Helix stages Vol 1: the first try
by onelildustbunni
Summary: New X-men AU/616::Hellion/X-23:: Julian Keller / Laura Kinney:: First volume of Helix. Romance/comedy with lots of action and drama and adventure. This volume is complete and will not be updated further; author page: Helix vol 2 Helix vol 0 prequel too
1. 1: Initiation 1:3 first contact

**title****: **Stages

**pairing****: **Laura/Julian

**a/n****:** Takes place right after the events of the Nimrod arc. it should be noted that in my story, Laura has her own room (it makes more sense;  
if they are so afraid of her killing everyone, why does she have a roommate?)

**story**** type: **you know what, i really couldn't tell you. this is just an insight into what daily life would be like if the two were a couple.  
it has a subtle plot in there. hope you enjoy it! :)

* * *

** Chapter 1: first contact**

* * *

The girl sat in her room, hunched over and staring out the window unblinkingly with her luminous green eyes.  
The only movement on her person was her shoulders, twitching erratically as she worked on something out of  
view. Her hair hung around her face like a curtain, glossy and full of life around her pale skin.

She tensed suddenly, and her head swung around, her nostrils flaring. She did not show surprise when a  
knocking sound broke the silence a minute later. She made an odd metallic sound, her shoulders making  
the greatest of all the movements she had made so far. She then slowly got to her feet, picked up  
a towel from the bed and wiped it over her arms, which were covered in a sticky red fluid. It couldn't be  
blood, though, because there were no cuts, just unbroken white skin. Throwing the towel back down,  
she placed her hand on the doorknob and twisted it, opening the door partway and leaning out.

"Yes?" she asked. She did not falter in her visage, or show surprise at her visitor, having known who it  
was when she'd first detected him.

"I came to make sure you're okay," the boy said, almost uncertainly, rubbing his neck unconsciously.  
As if that might be the wrong answer to whatever question it was that was poised. The girl raised her  
eyebrow.

"I am fine, thank you. You have asked me that twenty-two times in the last sixteen hours you have been  
awake. I continue to be fine." Her mouth closed, and she continued to watch him blankly.

"I—" he cleared his throat. "Okay, that's not all I, um, wanted to know. I guess I just wanted to make sure  
you're still alive, and, uh…" he trailed off, angry at himself. He'd never had trouble stringing words together  
before, and that was something that bothered him about Laura. "Do you, uh, want to go somewhere?"

Laura shifted. "I am…comfortable, at the mansion. I do not wish to leave."

"No! That wasn't what I meant!" the boy was annoyed. Did she have to be so damn literal all the time?  
"I meant…do you want to, um, go out? With me? We could, do something."

"Do something?" Laura looked confused. "A mission?"

"No," the boy replied with a sigh. "Um, a date."

Laura opened the door all the way.

"What's a date, Julian?"

"Oh my god, forget it," he replied, suddenly realizing that this was possibly the most retarded thing he'd  
ever tried to do.

"I do not understand," Laura continued, like she responded to mission parameter briefings. "I…I would like to know."  
She looked down, and his frustration began to melt away somewhat as he was reminded exactly what had given  
him this idea. The horror at seeing her eyes in a melted face, doing this exact thing—giving him a beseeching look;  
and then the recovery, when she'd rolled to her elbows and given him an honest-to-god smile. He hadn't realized she  
could smile before, having assumed whatever people had made her had eliminated the muscles for such an expression.

"It's, uh…I like you, Laura," he said plainly.

"I like you too," she responded, but he knew—just _knew_—she had no idea what he was talking about; she was saying  
it mildly, like admitting that she did not hate her teammates or friends.

"No, I mean—I want to spend time with you, and get to know you better," he said, realizing he was speaking to her like  
she was a child. Possibly the best approach, but it made him feel weird, like he was asking a five-year-old out. "You—you  
do know about the birds and bees and shit, right?"

Laura's eyes opened wide. "Birds and bees?"

"Wow, okay. I mean, the thing men and women do." Julian wondered if he was going to have to explain it to her, which  
would be a first for him. Then again, all this was new. He'd liked Sophia—possibly loved her—but it still hadn't been quite  
the same as this obsession with Laura. She hadn't filled his mind every waking and dreaming moment,  
she hadn't been in the background of every unrelated thought he had.

"Sexual intercourse?" Laura asked. "Yes, I know what that is. The male of the human or mutant species inserts his—"

"No, I didn't ask for an explanation," Julian interrupted. "_I_ know what it is. I brought it up, because, um, what I meant about  
liking you…it's sort of along those lines." He rubbed his neck again, and flushed.

"Oh," Laura said, studying him. She was silent for a while, then looked down at the carpet again. "Is there something wrong  
with the floor, Julian? You keep staring at it. Cyclops asked us to inform him if we see any structural damage."

"No," he said.

"I do not wish to talk about this," Laura added suddenly. "I…I like you too. I cannot allow myself to form attachments."  
She shifted. "People I form attachments to…they die. I do not wish for you to die, Julian."

"I can take care of myself," he said sharply.

"My creators will return for me, and they will be prepared to deal with you as well. I do not wish to be responsible for your  
death. I should not even be here, at the mansion."

"Like I said, I can take care of myself," Julian said, sounding angry. "I'm more powerful now. Whoever your "creators" are,  
they can go screw themselves. I'm not going to live life, being careful every moment. That's like being afraid to get out of bed 'coz  
you might twist your ankle doing it."

Laura looked down. "No, Julian, you do not know what you are talking about. I cannot form attachments." She began to close the door.

"Damnit, Laura!" he said, holding it open mentally and slipping into her room after her. She backed up, her eyes wide;  
no one had ever entered her room before. They were all afraid of her, in their own way. They might be friendly, they  
might speak to her and touch her on missions, but her time was her own, and no one wanted to spend it with her.

She liked it that way.

"Julian…leave," she said, sounding a little uncertain for the first time.

"Not until you give this a chance," he said, sitting on her bed. "I…I was scared when you nearly died, and not just because  
I didn't want to lose another teammate. I think I care about you."

"No!" Laura suddenly yelled, her claws sliding out. "You do not understand! I cannot form attachments!" She brought her  
hands to her face, trying to cover up her eyes. Was she crying? Julian felt awkward, and bad at the same time.

"Nothing bad's going to happen!" he said, jumping up. "Stop it! People are dying anyway, and it's not your fault."

"Yes it is, it always is!" Laura growled, her voice broken. "It always is my fault. I killed my mother, you know."

"Jesus," Julian said, his eyebrows shooting straight up. "Well, at least you can't kill your father—brother, I guess." He was  
referring to Wolverine. This was so off-topic that it was funny; suddenly bringing Wolverine into the conversation. Wolverine,  
the sarcastic, beer saturated teacher who had eccentric habits and was as psychopathic as Laura herself.

Laura stared at him, and slowly an odd thing began to happen. A high-pitched, musical sound, somewhat roughened from crying,  
was gurgling in her throat. It rose in volume, and she clapped her hands over her mouth, turning pale as a sheet, with a terrified expression.

"Oh my god, did you—did you just laugh?" he asked, astounded. This was bigger than Laura smiling that once—this was amazing.  
The idea of her laughing, of being human enough to find something funny, floored him completely.

"I have to go see Dr. McCoy," Laura said, her voice uneven. "I must have broken something internally."

Julian grinned. "No, it was good. It means you're more human than you think, beautiful." The last part slipped out without him meaning  
to add it, but somehow, it seemed right; Sophia was gone, but Laura was slowly taking her place.

"I…" Laura's hands dropped to her sides, the claws retracting. She flushed; she'd never been called beautiful. She knew what the word  
meant; in reality, she knew the definition of all words, just not how to apply them to her world. She couldn't imagine someone thinking  
that she was anything other than a weapon; the appearance of a weapon was unimportant. Yet there they were. "Give me a chance?"  
Julian asked, taking one of her hands in his and trying to mimic her beseeching look. It probably looked pathetic on him, but he didn't care.  
Seeing her laugh had added fuel to the fire. He wanted to work on her, make her laugh again. It was like music.

"I…" Laura swallowed, fighting her instincts. She was terrified at the thought of allowing herself to even consider forming another attachment,  
but in all honesty, she wanted something from Julian. She wasn't sure what, but it had made her follow him like a dog for the last few weeks.  
He was unaware that she'd been stalking him, even breaking into his bedroom to watch him sleep. "Yes. But…be careful, please. Do not tell  
anyone. No one must know, do you understand?"

"Yes," he said, and wrapped one arm around her waist. He pulled her flush and kissed her lightly, grinning against her as he felt how stiff she  
was, her legs bending to remain rooted on the ground. "We'll be careful. I promise."


	2. 1: Initiation 2:3 out

** Chapter 2: out **

"I…I am uncomfortable," Laura said in a small, quiet voice as she watched Julian put on his coat in the mansion's foyer. "This is dangerous."

"We're just going out for dinner," he mumbled back, shrugging the jacket on. He gave Laura a reassuring pat on her shoulder. As was to be  
expected, she had showed up in the foyer wearing her X-uniform and declared she was ready to go. Julian had taken a moment to close his  
eyes and recalibrate his attitude; he'd finally taken her by the hand and asked her to wear something a little more human. A small situation  
had ensued were she didn't know what to wear, or understand why she should change, and he'd had to come upstairs to argue with her  
and presumably pick her outfit—another first for him.

He had finally convinced her of the type of thing to wear by using the word "undercover". Upon hearing this, she'd finally selected a pair of jeans  
and a corset-looking tank top from amongst her small collection of possessions—and had begun to change in front of him, seemingly without modesty.  
"Jesus Christ!" he'd said, barely having time to turn around. He'd normally try to take a peak, but it felt wrong somehow. He wasn't sure if he was  
entirely ready for Laura.

Julian handed her coat to her, wrinkling his nose. "Won't you be cold in that?" he asked. It was a belly-length leather jacket, with fur around the  
collar and cuffs. To be honest, she was decked out like a hooker. He thought she was prettier in her X-uniform, without the red lipstick and black  
eyeliner that she'd whipped on.

"I am used to it," Laura said, her voice still low. She did not want the other students to know that she was going out with Julian. He thought it was  
ridiculous, but was going along with it to make her comfortable. "It bothered me the first night, but not after." Julian paused, then shrugged it off.  
It was an odd comment, but then again, Laura was odd. He held the door open for her physically, even though they both knew it wasn't necessary.  
He wondered if it even occurred to Laura why he was doing it, as his eyes studied her backside.

"Goin' somewhere?" a voice on the porch growled. Julian felt his palms sweat, and he turned to see Wolverine leaning against the railing, his cigarette  
light illuminating his face in a particularly scary fashion. "Yes," Laura answered seriously. She trusted Wolverine, of all people. Her eyes shone in the dark,  
like a cat's. Julian had a momentary urge to fly for his life and leave the whole freakshow behind, seriously doubting what he was getting himself into.

"With him?" Wolverine added, raising his eyebrows with his eyes on Julian. Dear God, his eyes reflected light too, a golden flash in the dark from his cigarette  
light. This was a twisted version of the father with a gun—except he didn't need a gun. Julian knew that if the older man attacked him, he might not even have  
time to pull up a shield—hell, he wouldn't have time to think. He waited for Wolverine to ask what his intentions were.

"Hrrm," Logan said thoughtfully. "Have fun." He blew out a cloud of smoke, and Julian turned to leave, so disorientated that he walked into the pillar with a l  
oud bonk. He rubbed his forehead angrily, hearing the older man make another grunt, something like a laugh. _This is absolutely fantastic_, he thought.

"Bus stop's thataways," Logan said, still amused. "Oh, and Keller—guess I should say 'if you break her heart, I'll tear you a new one'—but that's a lie.  
We both know she'd get to you first."

Laura blinked. She probably thought Logan meant that Julian could literally break her heart; but she stayed silent, perhaps out of respect to her originator.

"Mmkay, thanks," Julian said, ignoring the last comment and reaching for Laura's hand. She pulled away, and rejected, he jammed his hands into his pockets,  
feeling more annoyed than ever. Fucking Wolverine. "Let's go, X."

** …**

"It says it comes in ten minutes," Julian said, spinning around the bus schedule on the pole slowly. "We could always just fly there."

"No," Laura said, folding her arms. "That will draw attention."

"Sure," he said, leaning against the pole and watching his breath wisp away in the air. It was a cold night, with powdery snow on the ground. His head  
still smarted from where he'd hit it earlier; he mused that he would probably ask Elixir to fix it later, or he'd have quite a bump tomorrow. Fucking Wolverine.

They stood in silence for a while, until Julian cleared his throat. "So, uh…can I ask you stuff? About what you like, I mean?"

Laura tilted her head. "Yes," she said, after considering it for a moment. It was odd; she'd never had anyone really ask her about what she liked,  
and what she wanted. Except for her cousin, Megan.

"Okay. What's…your favorite color?" he asked, for lack of anything else. But this was important; he wanted to bring her out, get her to talk.  
Her natural state was silence, but he felt that she always had something she wanted to say.

"I do not know," Laura said. "Not red."

Julian realized she was thinking of blood. "What's it like, to have such sharp senses? That's got to be pretty cool. I've never seen anyone but  
Wolverine eavesdrop like that." He was referring to her reporting of the conversation between Carol Danvers and Cyclops, in the hallway.

Laura took a deep breath.

"I have a sensory range of four point three kilometers, in any direction. That is 2.67189613 miles. My hearing is the most accurate of my senses for  
distance capabilities. My claws are ejected at a speed of 450.61632 kilometers per hour. That is two hundred and ninety miles per hour. I can cut  
through any known material with my claws, except adamantium, which is the material they are coated with. I have been recorded to terminate the  
mutant Magneto in one minute and twenty-two seconds in the Cerebro files of the Danger Room. I have killed two hundred fifty-five people in the  
course of my career. I am wanted by five national security syndicates; under different aliases, of which I have ten. I have five passports, and I have  
one-hundred ninety-five thousand two-hundred fifty five dollars in cash. Is that sufficient information?"

Julian stared at her, again quenching an urge to turn and leave. "Well, at least you won't be after my money, then," he said, not knowing how to  
respond to the rest of the information.

"Your money?" Laura asked, perhaps the first personal question she'd asked about him.

"My family's rich," Julian replied nonchalantly. "Self-made billionaires." For the first time, he didn't feel like he was showing off when he told her;  
money seemed to be a completely unimportant subject to her.

"As X-23, I have made my creators more than three billion dollars in my existence," Laura said flatly. "I was…created as a weapon. For assassination.  
Have you heard of the Candidate Johnson incident?"

Julian started. "That was you? Holy. Twenty people died!"

"Twenty-seven people, twelve women, and two boys, ages thirteen and fifteen," Laura corrected. Her eyes were dull. "I had no emotion towards it.  
I was merely following mission parameters."

"And now?" Julian asked, staring at her.

"I think about it every night when I close my eyes," she said softly, and he suddenly realized she was telling him something she'd never said to anyone  
before. She _did_ have emotions, no matter how far away they were, or hard to reach. "I dream about it, too. And my mother."

The word _mother_ always seemed to bring out a difference in Laura. Her eyes almost filled up every time, with fresh sadness. He'd heard a bit about  
it in the past; Emma had been shouting that X-23 had killed her own mother, and Laura herself had blurted it to him before.

"Why?" he asked.

"There is a scent, a trigger-scent, that my creators developed to make me lose control. If it is applied to a subject, I lose consciousness, and when  
I wake up, everyone is dead. They used it on my mother." She looked down, unfolding her arms. "They began the conditioning when I was eight years old."

"Conditioning?" Julian was surprised; he'd known that Laura had been a weapon before, and that she had been treated like a soldier. Or something.  
But he wasn't sure of the depth of her treatment.

"I was subjected to forms of water torture: dunking, water-boarding, and Chinese water torture, for five years; but instead of water, the trigger scent  
was used. The rest of the time I was subjected to starvation, beatings, and psychological torture using my mother. My neck has been broken thirty-two times."

"I had no idea," he said, after a second. "Holy. It's amazing you get out of bed every morning. Why didn't you—why didn't you tell someone?" Julian was  
overwhelmed; he hadn't realized there was so much to her past. He was beginning to understand her a little better, her reactions, the way she sometimes  
twitched when people spoke to her.

"There was no need," Laura stated simply. She looked to the side, into the night. " The bus is coming. It will arrive in approximately four minutes and fourteen seconds,  
and the fare meter is broken."

She looked back at him, and he realized that she felt awkward, too. He held out his hand, and after a moment, Laura took it. They held hands for a while,  
then he pulled her towards him and once again kissed her softly, her body heat more obvious in contrast to the cold of the night air. The snow crunched  
beneath her boots as she leaned in a bit more and he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear.

" For?" Laura asked, pulling back to look him in the eyes.

"Everything," Julian said. " The comments I made before. For your mother. For what you went through…that's fucked up."

"You asked me what I like…" Laura said. "I like…kissing. Is that what this is?"

" Yeah," he said, grinning a bit as he leaned against the bus stop's pole, holding the girl against him. " You've never done it before?"

"I have, yes," Laura said, frowning. "I did not enjoy it. It was required of me."

"You—" Julian almost choked. "You were a hooker?"

"Yes," Laura said seriously. "It was the only way."

" Damn," he replied, adding it to the list of Reasons Not To Date Laura. Which he seemed to be completely ignoring anyway. He opened his mouth to  
ask more, but at that moment, the bus rounded the corner.

"Meter's broken, go to the back," the bus driver said as they climbed on.

**…**

Laura sat by the window, looking out into the snow. She didn't know how to make small talk; she'd never felt it was necessary. She knew enough  
of human behavior, though, to know that most people socializing did converse. She was only full of numerical data, though; she was a living science  
project. Everything she had to say to Julian was negative, abnormal. She could see in his body language that as much as he was interested in her,  
he was afraid of her; that fear would always remain, in a sense.

He knew about the trigger scent now.

Julian put his arm around her, and she tensed. He seemed to enjoy touching her; she liked it, too, but it scared her. She was not used to such unnecessary  
contact; and the touches like this she'd received before were always necessary for survival. A small part of her wondered if she should be baiting herself  
with sensations that she would miss when he was dead or no longer interested in her.

She turned to view him out of the corner of her eye, curious. What was he thinking? What did he see in her? The corner of her eye also caught the glint  
of the gun across the aisle, and she twitched.

" Muties! You're fucking muties!" the man yelled, pointing his finger dramatically at them but still concealing the gun. Julian glared at him across the aisle.  
"What makes you say that?" he asked, in his usual arrogant tone.

"You got on at the freak school," their accuser said. "You make me sick, the two of you. Die!" He pulled out his gun and fired, point-blank at Julian's head.

The said Julian raised his eyebrows, and the man looked, frustrated, at his gun. The bullet had never left the chamber; it was glowing green, and smoking.  
He shook it angrily. People in the back of the bus were screaming and crying. The driver had stopped the bus, and was heading towards them.

" Lookit what he's doing! He's using his mutant powers on me!" the man said to the bus driver, a little hysterically. " He tried to shoot me," Julian said  
reasonably, he and Laura getting to their feet. They knew the drill; they were familiar with being unwelcome.

" Sir, I'm going to have to ask you and your girl friend there to leave the bus," the driver said unsympathetically. "I won't have you endangering my customers."

" This is ridiculous. I'm going to sue you, you know," Julian said, his voice rising.

" Go ahead, you and your mutie lawyer," the driver said. "Out!"

"Julian," Laura said, touching his shoulder. "It is not worth it." He nodded, and sulkily followed his companion down the stairs. "Least we're fairly close to town.  
Walk the rest of the way?" he asked.

Laura nodded, and he noticed that she was shivering.

"Here," he said, shrugging off his jacket and laying it on her shoulders. "Told you to wear something warmer." Laura didn't respond, but did pull the jacket tighter;  
and slowly they began to trudge through the snow.

" Well, well, I see you've made a friend. How sweet. Have you done it yet?"

Laura spun on her heels, and all the color left her face.

"Kimura," she said, her voice trembling.


	3. 1: Initiation 3:3 defiant

** Chapter 3: defiant**

**A/N: **This story is running concurrent with the NXM #33-36 arc, with some blanks filled and scenes described. It will deviate away from this at a certain point.

* * *

"The one and only," the woman said, smiling widely. " Miss me, X?"

" Run!" Laura gasped at Julian, pushing him away. "He has nothing to do with this!" she shouted at Kimura. "Don't touch him!  
I will go quietly if he is not harmed." She ejected her claws.

" Oh, sweety. You say that every time. Don't you know by now that I _like_ a challenge? I _love_ it when you fight. It makes it sweeter  
when I win!" Kimura pulled the mini machine gun from her holster and fired at Julian. " Which is every time."

" NO!" Laura yelled, but he was ready; the spray of bullets just ricocheted off of his shield. "I've known you for ten seconds, and  
already I can tell I don't like you," Julian said, turning Kimura's gun around in her hands.

" AHH!" Kimura yelled as her face was hit by a series of artillery fire. Her finger finally stopped pressing the trigger, and she wiped  
her face—which showed no damage. "That was annoying," she hissed.

" What _is_ she?" Julian asked, a bit worried now. Obviously this was going to be more challenging than he'd thought. "Julian. Leave now."  
Laura stomped towards Kimura, her claws gleaming in the moonlight. She grunted as she began slashing at the woman's head, her  
claws a blur; but Kimura brushed the attacks off like the girl was a mosquito. " Silly clone," she said, slamming the heel of her palm into  
Laura's face and shattering her nose.

Julian rose into the air, Laura in tow. They weren't supposed to fly in order to keep off the radar, but this was a different situation entirely.  
From the air, he could see that Kimura wasn't alone; in the trees around them, there were men. Soldiers. Equipped with all sorts of  
anti-mutant weapons.

"Julian! You have to kill her!" Laura pleaded as he grabbed her hand and held it. "You can do it. Kimura is invulnerable…on the outside.  
If you form a telekinetic bubble on her insides…her brain, her heart…she can die. She has done terrible things." He frowned and shook  
his head.

" Laura, I can't. We're X-men, and X-men don't kill."

" She's the one who broke my neck," Laura said in a small voice.

Looking down, Julian made a fist and the snow around Kimura exploded as she was scooped into the air, screaming in surprise. He made a  
motion, as if throwing a baseball; and Kimura sailed away, her voice fading in the cold, silent air like the villains from the Pokemon he used  
to watch as a young child: " DAMN YOU, CLOOOOonnnnee…"

"We're better than that," Julian said, sweeping his arm over the landscape a couple of yards below them. The men fell to the ground, their  
weapons exploding. " We're out of here," he added. "Let's go. I don't care what else happens, I'm taking you out for dinner, come hell or high water."

The corners of Laura's mouth tilted up slightly, ever-so-slightly. "We have to go back and warn the others."

"Them? They wouldn't dare attack, with all the X-men home. They weren't even prepared for me being with you. I'll get ahold of Emma,  
just in case, but we're going anyways." He squeezed Laura's waist and they resumed their course.

** …**

Julian was surprised when Laura fluently ordered dinner in Japanese at the Sushi restaurant, seeming to know everything there was about  
the food. When asked, she'd informed him that it had been a mission of hers, several times, to assassinate powerful Japanese men.

"Interesting," he said, watching her pick the rolls up with her chopsticks and dip them in the sauces, then eat them gracefully. He felt embarrassed  
and outclassed; he picked them up with his fingers and had trouble, trying to cram the whole thing in and ending up with rice everywhere.

"What are we doing now?" Laura asked when they'd finished and Julian had paid their bill. "I don't know. A movie?" he asked.

" Okay," she said.

** … **

"You're not supposed to do that," Julian mumbled as they left the theatre. " It's not real. Haven't you been to a movie before?"

" Once, with my cousin," Laura replied, aware that he wasn't pleased with her reaction. She'd begun shouting warnings to the girl on the  
screen, responding as though she was in the Danger Room. She would've jumped up to pop her claws, but Julian had held her in her seat  
telekinetically, his head in his hands. They'd been kicked out of the theatre for the disturbance.

"I am…sorry," Laura said, saying the word almost hesitantly. As if she wasn't sure it was appropriate here. He almost laughed, but that would  
have confused her even more, so he shook his head. "Forget it. Let's get some ice cream or something and head home."

A few minutes later, they were again waiting at the bus stop, ice cream cones in hand. Julian was regretting his bright idea; watching Laura work  
at her dessert was uncomfortable. In an entirely different way. His thoughts were roaming all over the place, but he knew she wasn't ready for that  
yet. He knew she was going to take time, a lot of time, to come out of her shell. If ever. She was worth it, though, and he liked a challenge.

"Do you think we'll ever be real X-men?" he asked, his mind on the topic of challenges. Laura's eyes flicked up to meet his.

"We are X-men," she said.

"They have all those years of experience over us, though," Julian said thoughtfully. "Well, not you, I guess; but for the rest of the team—including  
me—this is all new. I used to captain a soccer team, pick on my younger brother, and get into trouble with girls. I'd never done anything like this,  
before here. I _love_ it." He frowned. "Well, not the persecution part. But I love having powers."

"I do not understand," Laura said quietly. "My powers only destroy."

Julian frowned, and the bus came.

**… **

"Good, kid. Hard to do that position, and you got it on the first go."

Laura made no comment, simply gliding into the next pose to meet Logan's next attack. They were in the danger room, practicing a different kind of  
martial arts that was new to both of them. They had taken it on as a project, something to do together. Logan, surprisingly, had suggest it, wishing  
to spend time with Laura without making it awkward for her. He used the time to question her about her life—how she was fitting in, if she needed  
money, was anything bothering her. He'd become the father she'd never had, in a sense, and Laura felt a deep respect and appreciation to him,  
knowing he was the only being on earth who could understand what she was feeling—appreciate it.

"So, you're seeing that Keller kid, huh?"

"I do not wish to discuss this," Laura said flatly, blocking a punch swiftly.

"Huh. Well, I want to. Is he treating you good?"

Laura bent backwards to avoid a face kick, but missed Logan's other leg sweeping behind hers and crashed to the floor. "You distracted me," she said,  
glaring up at him as he chuckled.

"Fine, you got me," Logan admitted. "I want to know though. Do I have to eviscerate him or not?"

"No," Laura said, getting up. "He is fine."

"You know where to come if he gets uppity," Logan said. "Wanna try this with claws?" At his clone's nod, they simultaneously popped their claws.  
By unspoken agreement, their sparring practices were done with two claws on each hand for Logan and no foot claws on Laura's part.

After the session, Laura spent half an hour reveling in the school's hot water system; specifically, the one in the girl's locker room. This was her favorite  
time—being alone. Before, in her cell at the facility, she'd wanted nothing more than to get out and be normal. Meet people. Touch people, not just kill  
them. Have freedom. Yet she'd since discovered that no one was really free; their bonds were just less obvious. A deep secret part of her longed for the  
unchanging certainty of her white-walled cell, and longed for someone to tell her what to do. Not just a vague idea; she wanted mission parameters for  
how to live her life, with quantitative, scientific data. She didn't do so well with qualitative data that relied on previously known knowledge of human behavior.

But only sometimes.

She turned the shower off, finally, knowing that she shouldn't dawdle. If she spent too much time here, in her refuge, it would lose its appeal. At the same  
time as the Laura in her wanted certainty, the X-23 in her was a restless animal that required change. She wordlessly understood Logan's strange needs  
to wander around; she'd often stalked him on his excursions since her arrival at the mansion. Wolverine thought he could always detect her, but he didn't  
know that those had only been the times she'd wanted him to know she was there. The facility had so fine-tuned her senses that she could repress  
olfactory-triggering excretions, such as scent, or through concentration muffle her heart beat. She could even hold her breath for minutes on end. This  
was a combination of both powers and sheer will; she had, after all, survived five years of water torture that involved dunking. The first year had been hard,  
but it had grown easier after that.

**…**

Laura sat in her room, staring out the window, hunched over in her seat. Her shoulders twitched erratically as she worked at something out of view. Her skin  
glowed white in the setting sun; her eyebrows scrunched together formed a shadow that extended down her face. She looked as if she was in pain. Her head  
tilted up suddenly, and her nostrils flared; a second later, she had a visitor at her window, grinning at her and making motions to open the window.

A metallic sound split the air, and she bent over to retrieve something, making odd movements with her shoulders; finally she straightened and slid the window  
pane up, her expression serious.

"Hi, beautiful," Julian said, sitting down on her window frame. "What's up?"

"You should not be here," Laura said, scowling. "Someone will see."

"I don't care," he said, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. "I feel pent-up today. I want to go flying with you, Laura."

Laura studied his face. "It would be dangerous. We could be caught very easily."

"That's what makes it fun," he said, his eyes twinkling. He suddenly grabbed Laura around the waist and pulled her out with him; surprisingly, she did not resist,  
but molded her contours to his. "Okay," she said.

"That's what I love about you, Laura, you're not afraid," Julian said, his smile widening as they left the roof behind. "You don't even care that you can't fly. You don't  
care that I could just let you fall. You can take care of yourself. You're so…"

"Love?" Laura asked.

"Love is...shit, I'm not explaining it to you. You've got to figure it out for yourself. But I'm not saying, uh, that I love you or anything. I just like things about you…really  
like things." Laura's eyebrow raised just a fraction,. She had heard his heart rate increase by half a pump per second; she had smelled the adrenaline hormones, even  
as they were carried away by the wind. He had been scared by her question.

She knew more than he thought she did. She knew what love was. The unconditional caring, the willingness to sacrifice yourself for the other being. As she had loved  
her mother, but perhaps different. It was hard for Laura to gauge her emotions for others; she valued her own life so little that she would lay it on the line at any moment,  
for anyone at the school. Was love more than that?

"What were you doing in your room?" Julian asked, twirling around a tree. He'd released Laura from his physical hold, but was still supporting her mentally. She folded  
her legs in midair, in a sort of levitating yoga position.

"Watching," she answered.

"For who?"

Laura closed her eyes. "The next attack. The ones who made me. Returning X-men. My mother."

Julian drew his legs up beside her. "I'm sorry," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "But hey…look on the bright side. Now you can watch for me, too!" he  
added playfully. Laura, however, remained serious: "Yes." He wasn't sure how to respond, so instead he sent them tumbling over the field, Laura inhaling sharply  
but not crying out at the sudden loss of support.


	4. 2: Mercury Falling 1:4 euphoria

** Chapter 4: euphoria**

**A/N:** Thank you for the awesome reviews! I, too, would feel panic at the thought of no-more Kyle & Yost Laura. And I definitley agree with you guys--_not_ enough fics on this pairing! Julian and Laura are so awesome together. I'm thinking about creating a fansite about them (I draw too), as I have been nursing this interest in the pairing for about a year or more now and it's just not losing its glow. I've decided I will write this story like a comic book...each few chapters will deal with a new arc, a new mini-plot, the main plot being Julian & Laura as a couple. I'm getting to know the characters better--in writing them, I have to provide more dialogue and descriptions than a comic does, so I am developing some traits a little more. Subtly, I hope! For instance, a little birdy told me Julian has a good sense of humor in addition to having a superiority complex; he finds it comes out alot around Laura. While Laura is telling me she likes to think scientifically; she likes to analyze; but spending so much time with Julian is going to touch tiny little areas that make her smile a bit. I find that a few traits from my current boyfriend are entering this story; a bit of his sense of humor, some of his trademark actions (watch for the fist pump!). Hope you enjoy, sorry for rambling! XD

Also note: This is going a little more serious, this chapter includes a bed scene (no explicitness); but I hope no one is offended. For my story, the characters are about 19 and 17.

* * *

"Tell me…is that a genuine emotion? Or just something your masters programmed into you?"

Laura's head tilted, and she eyed the headmistress as she swept in, her white robes flowing about her. _Alpha. Alpha bitch._  
This X-23 did not mean in an insulting manner; she was using the word in its proper meaning.

Emma Frost was the Headmistress at Xavier's. Maybe she was out of the Hellfire Club, but the rank of White Queen hadn't died in her.  
She acted like a queen—like she owned the place. In reality, this was still Xavier's property; but it had become her territory. Laura could  
sense it almost more clearly than if Emma had peed on all the wall corners.

"Get out of my mind," Laura said stiffly. This was quite an occurrence; she did not often find herself so threatened by a person as to noticeably react.

"I'm not in it. I don't have to be. You've been following Julian around like a puppy ever since you returned from Dallas."

"Please stop." Laura shifted uncomfortably. She did not want Emma to know; she did not trust her as far as she could throw her. She did not  
believe that Emma was evil, or harmful; but for some reason, she bore a grudge towards Laura; the girl had no doubt that Frost would sell her  
out at a moment's notice.

" You think I hate you, but I don't." Emma looked out into the danger room through the viewing glass, at Julian and Dr. McCoy as they stared at a  
giant crater the boy had just created by accident. " In many ways, we are the same. I, too, have done horrible things in my life. I've hurt good  
people, destroyed minds."

Laura clenched her fist, but Emma wasn't done.

"Killed those I once loved…my own sister. I understand evil and death, just as you do. But the difference between us is that my actions were  
by my own choice. You _don't_ have a choice. With a single drop of that chemical…that ' trigger' …you lose control to your masters and kill whomever  
they choose." Emma paused. "If you care for Julian, then you will leave him. Leave this school now, before it's too late." Laura looked down, tears  
forming in her eyes. As much as she hated Emma—the woman was right. She was risking many lives by remaining in the school. Needlessly risking them.

A thought entered her mind—she had to talk to him, tell him it was over, she was leaving. Laura's eyes widened and she stared at Emma. The thought  
wasn't her own; Laura wouldn't bother telling anyone, she'd just go.

" You…" she said.

" How can you say that?!" Cecily's voice broke the silence. " She saved us! All of us!" The girl stomped into the room, looking upset.

" Cessily…" Emma said. She had clearly been unaware of the girl's approach.

" No! You abandon Kevin, you humiliate Julian, and now you want Laura to leave?! What is the matter with you?! She nearly died saving our lives…she would  
have, if not for Julian! _This_ is how you treat her?"

" There are things you don't know, Cessily…" Emma said weakly. " I'm doing this to protect you."

Laura turned away, her stomach twisting. Blindly she found the door and clambered into the hallway. She wanted to rip, tear, kill, and pretend the victim of her  
attacks was Emma. She dared not do anything.

" I don't care!" Cessily shouted, behind her at Emma. " I've found out more than enough about how you ' protect' your students, Miss Frost."

Their voices faded into the distance and she hurried to her room, her fists smarting. She needed to pop her claws, badly, and shred something to pieces.  
She wished for the danger room but it was damaged, and it was also the place she was fleeing from. She finally reached her darkened chambers and slammed  
the door behind her, then leaned her head back against it and let out a sob.

She realized she wasn't alone. Julian was sitting on her bed. She'd been too upset and distracted to do her almost instinctual room check; she was too close to  
losing control. She did not want to see him now.

"Leave," she said, her voice strained. Tears were sliding down her cheeks and she couldn't stop them.

" No," he said, getting up. "What's wrong?"

" I do not wish to discuss this," Laura growled between gritted teeth. "Leave, _now_, while I am still in control." She gave him a warning glare with eyes that were  
slightly bloodshot, something that happened when she was blacking out.

"You're a fortress, Laura," he said, sounding irritated. "I just saw you cry. I'm not leaving until I know what's going on, and who to beat up."

Laura stared at him hard.

" We cannot continue this affiliation. It is…dangerous for everyone at the school. Leave now…please. Do not make me force you."

" No," he said. "You won't force me to do anything, Laura, and that includes breaking up, when it's not something you really _want_ to do. Do you?" He touched her  
cheek, and all the power and adrenaline Laura had felt rushing through her a moment before was suddenly focused on that one spot. "…" she opened her mouth,  
wanting to speak, but not knowing what to say.

"What do you want?" he asked quietly.

Laura struggled inwardly, then took a breath. "This," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting herself become distracted.

**… **

"Wow," Julian said, much later. "Just…wow. Where the hell did you learn that?"

Laura held the covers over herself, quiet, stiff, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, as she had done often in the past. Memories flooded her mind;  
she'd heard those words so many times before. She'd seen a man kill himself over the terrible things he'd done and had her do; somehow,  
it had struck deeper than many of the other deaths she held herself responsible for. A guilt lingered around it; a failure; maybe if she'd been better…

"Laura?"

He dragged himself up to his elbows and ran the back of his hand down her jaw. "Earth to X, come in," he said softly. "I don't mean to scare you…but  
I kind of like you, beautiful." Leaning down, he kissed the hollow of her throat.

She didn't reply, but continued to watch him from the corner of her eye.

"What'll it take to make you smile?" he asked.

"Everyone alive," Laura whispered. Her words were like ice; two simple little words. A plea to make everything better.

"I'm not a god…yet," he said after a moment. "You make me feel like one, sometimes." Laura lowered her eyes, her fingers tightening in the sheets.  
She wanted to be alone, to…release the pain, but she couldn't, not with someone else there. He'd try to stop her. He wouldn't understand.

Julian frowned and took one of her hands, stretching it up above their heads. He moved his palm, and green light ran up and down Laura's arm, making  
her jump slightly, uncertain. "Shh, it's okay," he said, and after a moment, she realized it was. It felt pleasant, like acupuncture. He watched her, his eyes  
glowing, and the energy moved down to her back and over her front. She closed her eyes and before she knew, she was entirely relaxed.

She opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Thank…thank you," she said, feeling euphoric. His eyes returned to their normal color; he was still watching her. She didn't know what to do next, but she  
felt something was required of her, so she leaned into him and pressed her lips against his, an action she'd never initiated before.

"My pleasure," he said a little hoarsely, grinning back at her. "Again?"

** …**

"OHMIGOD! You like JULIAN!" Cessily gasped.

Laura shifted uncomfortably. She did not feel dislike towards Cessily; the other girl was pleasant, and well-meaning; but it was not something she felt should  
ever be heard by other ears. Not when it could so easily be destroyed, should the wrong ears hear it.

"I do not wish to talk about this," she said flatly.

"You _do!_ Oh, Laura, we should…we should, I don't know, we need to talk." Cessily touched her chest, an expression of shock and awe overtaking her face.  
She was astonished and pleased and happy that Laura was acting human. The said Laura took a breath. "Please move."

"Let's go get a coffee! In town! Seriously, this will be _so_ good." Cessily was just about bouncing up and down.

"Whoa, can we _do_ that no? I thought we couldn't leave! Is that new? I want to go too!" Santo piped up, overhearing their conversation.

"_No!_" Cessily said. "Come on, Laura!"

Laura leaned backwards, pondering her next actions. She really did not want to leave the mansion at the moment; she wanted to take a shower, and think  
about last night. Oddly the thought of her usual window-side activity did not occur to her; if it did, it was overshadowed by the desire to relive a few moments.

Then again…she could not reject Cessily's offer, without hurting the older girl's feelings. She shrugged her indifference, and Cess grabbed her by the wrist,  
practically dragging her towards the foyer. "What—" Julian asked, coming down a staircase behind Josh. They looked like they had just finished a training session;  
both boys were wearing slightly tattered uniforms. "This doesn't concern you!" Cessily snapped. _Help me_, Laura pleaded silently to Julian with her eyes. Unfortunately  
he wasn't a mind reader. Instead, he held up his hands. "Whoa, okay, forget it. Christ, Cess, PMS much?"

"Ignore them," Cessily said, rolling her eyes. It was hard to tell, because she had no pupils; Laura could, however, detect the movement by the twitching of the other girl's eyelids.

The two girls disappeared into the hallway.

** …**

"We don't know anything about you," Cessily said sadly.

Laura stared at her silently, tilting her head. In truth, she didn't know what to say to such a vague question. It had been easier, when Julian had asked;  
the purpose had been to scare him away. She didn't want to scare Cessily.

"Right. Well, I guess we know that you could kill us all if you wanted to. That's what Logan said." Cessily looked down at the table for a moment.  
"But you saved my life. Sure, you had to cut off my hands to do it. But I was trying to lose a few pounds, anyway. I just wanted to thank you."

Laura crouched over, her shoulder twitching. "You're welcome."

"Do you like Julian?" Cessily asked, leaning forwards as well.

"Yes. He saved my life." Laura thought of something else, but refrained from mentioning it. Cessily must not know; she would tell, either willingly or under  
torture. She couldn't be trusted with a secret, like Logan could.

"No, I mean, do you _like him_, like him."

"Like him, like him?"

"Do you have a crush on him?" Cessily asked, point blank, seeing that Laura was dancing around the subject by answering with questions. Laura made  
another motion. "I do not want to talk about this."

"Laura, it's okay if you do. I understand, believe me. I know how it is to like someone who doesn't necessarily like you back."

"No, I—" Laura opened her mouth to deny it, but a sound caught her ear. She turned her head in horror. _NO._

"Laura?" Cessily asked.

"Get out." Laura turned on her heel, looking in the other direction.

"What? Laura, I didn't mean to upset you, I was just—" Cessily said, approaching her to touch her shoulder. "Get out of here, now!" Laura yelled,  
shoving her friend away, then turning to the other patrons of the coffee shop. "All of you! Run!"

The coffee shop around them paused in its activities.

"You have to go!" Laura said, turning to the girl once more. "They're not here for you. They're here for _me_. They're here to take me back!"

"What?" Cessily asked, just as everything around them exploded in napalm-assisted flames.


	5. 2: Mercury Falling 2:4 interrogations

**Chapter 5: interrogations**

* * *

Julian approached the rec room, still wearing his uniform, as per usual. He was proud of his spot on team—plus,  
it was comfortable, and he hadn't done laundry for the last two weeks. "Santo, have you seen Cessily around?"  
he asked. He was irritated by the earlier incident and wanted to pry, knowing the girl would eventually tell him.  
Laura had looked especially agitated, desperate even; he'd not said anything, respecting her earlier wishes for  
him to act uninvolved in her life.

"Holy crap, Julian…did you know there were young freaking avengers running around?!" the vaguely human-shaped  
mass of boulders exclaimed in response.

"Yeah, so?"

"So?! Dude…we should go beat them up! Like, for no reason! It'll be awesome! Who's their strong guy?" Santo  
cracked his knuckles, grinning.

"Hulkling," a boy—Anole or Lizard or something—offered.

"Guys? Cessily?" Julian repeated, getting annoyed. Santo usually acted like he had ADD or something, which he probably  
did. He played with the idea of asking Dr. McCoy to check him out.

"What kind of name is 'Hulkling'?" Santo demanded in the background. "Gee, I don't know, 'Rockslide'," his lizard-friend  
responded almost immediately. A girl on the couch beside the two mutants looked up at Julian indifferently. "I saw her  
with X-23 before. I think they were going to town for coffee. That was a while ago, though. They looked a little intense."

"Thanks for _nothing,_ Santo," Julian ground out, annoyed. He left the rec room behind and stomped up the stairs towards  
the dorms. As he passed Lara's room, he heard scuffling; his curiosity was piqued immediately. He pried the door open  
tentatively and looked in; it was Laura. And two sets of claws that popped the moment he touched the wood of the door, as if he had startled her.

She was covered in blood, caked and wet.

"Laura? What happened to you?" he asked, pushing the door out of his way.

She looked down. "I do not want to talk about it."

"Damnit, Laura, I thought we were past this!" Julian put one hand on her shoulders and with the other lifted her chin.  
"What the hell happened? Do you needs Dr. McCoy? Or…are you…" he trailed off, looking her bloodied skin under the  
clean uniform. "You're going out. You changed your suit."

"Yes." Laura paused. "They took Cessily. But I'll get her back."

"Laura? What do you mean?" She tried to duck past him, but he tightened his grasp on her shoulder.

"They took her. The ones who made me. And the longer you stand here blocking me, the harder it'll be for me to track her."

"I'm going with you," Julian said, glaring at her.

"No." Laura smiled at him, as though laughing at the thought.

"I'm _going_ with you, I said," he repeated a moment later, after they had burst through the roof of the mansion. Laura looked  
a little surprised; she didn't struggle, but she was very tense. "Understand?" he asked sternly.

Laura's smile had faded. "Yes," she said, in a quieter voice.

**…**

"Find anything out?" Julian asked, stretching back on the bed despite his anxiety. He was exhausted, and every tiny muscle in  
his body hurt After the third straight day and night of searching, they'd needed sleep, and had retired for a short nap in a hotel.  
Laura had crept out again in the night; he'd woken alone, missing her body heat. It scared him that after only two nights with  
Laura—not even consecutive—he woke up hitting the mattress, searching for her.

All of the mornings in between those two times as well.

"No." Laura stood with her eyes fixed on the floor. "If we do not find her soon, she will be dead. And it will be my fault." Her chin  
trembled. "I knew no good would come…of this. I should not have allowed it."

"Of what?" Julian scrambled to his knees, feeling shitty for taking it easy while his girlfriend was out practically licking alleyways  
to find their friend.

"You and me. This. Us." Laura turned away from him. "She…she was asking me. If I liked you. When they came." She spoke in  
fragments, making a small huffing sound between sentences.

"God, Laura, it's not your fault," he said angrily. "Come on! We'll go out again. Someone's _got_ to know where they run their shit."

A shower and a bit later, they stood outside the door of a very seedy looking building. Muffled voices came through the thick wooden  
structure; the occasionally laugh. Laura crouched on a crate of boxes, her features fixed in a scowl. "They're playing poker," she  
whispered. "Now is a good time to strike. They are unprepared."

She bounded towards the door without waiting for Julian's response and rapped her knuckles smartly on it, over and over. He watched  
in amazement as she suddenly punched her fist into the door, ejecting her claws into the wood and then withdrawing them.

Gunfire followed, and as Laura had warned him, a man shot out of the building and leapt in his car. Julian grinned and made a fist-pump  
gesture, like he used to do on soccer goals; the car exploded around the two men, leaving two seats floating in mid air (because he thought  
it would be funny). Their guns flew from their grips; one flew straight to Laura's hand.

"Where _are_ they?" she growled at the man, taking a chokehold on his shirt collar.

"Aggh! " he yelled in response.

"Where is the facility operating out of the east coast?! You have three seconds."

She cocked the gun and pointed it straight at his forehead.

"One."

"I don't know!" he shouted.

"Two."

"I swear I don't—"

"Three."

"Cadillac Jones! On the East Side! He knows! Please don't kill me. I don't know anything!" The man was sweating profusely, and Julian could see why.  
Bodies littered the ground; he had the uncomfortable feeling that some or all were dead.

"I believe you." Laura said, pulling the trigger. The _blam_ echoed throughout the courtyard. Julian covered his mouth, thinking he might be sick.

"Why did you do that?!" he shouted, yanking the gun out of Laura's hand with his mind, the thought _pleasedontthrowup,pleasedontthrowup_ flashing through him.

"Because he did not have any more information," Laura said calmly.

"But you didn't have to kill him!" Julian rounded on Laura, incredulous.

"Yes, I did. He works for the facility, He deserves to die." Laura was serious.

"We'll find Cessily, but no more killing, do you hear me?" Julian lectured, shaking the gun at her with every word until he realized she was  
watching him; he threw it aside angrily, a small part of him thinking how ironic it would be if he accidentally shot her while bawling her out  
for using it. "We'll shake down your contacts, we'll get the location—but no more killing, understand?"

Lara remained silent, her expression unreadable.

**…**

"WHAT DID I SAY?!" he shrieked a few hours later as he just barely caught the man that came flying out the window. "I said no more killing!  
You promised!" He flew up to her level, fuming, the man still in tow.

"He is not dead. You saved him." Laura said. The corner of her mouth twitched up slightly, and her eyebrows arched, daring him to contradict her.

"This isn't funny, Laura! He didn't know where Cessily is…none of these guys do. We have to go back to the mansion and—"

"No," Laura interrupted him, closing her eyes. "There is one person who will know." She crouched down on the window sill.

"And what? All these other guys were for fun, or what?" Julian asked, lowering the man to five feet from the ground, then swinging him into a  
dumpster bin and closing the lid. He might not agree with killing, but he didn't mind having a little fun—the guy, after all, had tried to make a move on Laura.

"No," Laura said thoughtfully. "I do not like to use this contact. Not the person…the place he is holding. It is dangerous; he could turn us in  
at any time to the facility, if and when he returns."

"I must be missing something here," Julian said, perching beside her. "What are you talking about, beautiful?"

"The Kingpin," Laura said. "Rather, the man _holding_ his territory for him."

"You know the Kingpin?" Julian asked, a little afraid. He knew that name. "Wow, I guess you were serious about being in bad business before."

"Yes," Laura said, gazing out across the water. They were at the harbor, sitting on the windowsill of a skyscraper. "Many people died, because of me."

"Drama queen," he mumbled, putting his arm around her. "You scare me sometimes. Only reason I stick around is the other stuff you do to me."  
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "C'mon, where we gonna find this Kingpin-holder-thing, Miss X?"

"Over there," Laura said, pointing across the water at a cluster of darkened warehouses. "This is Wednesday night. It is custom to count the stores.  
They will be there. You must do as I say…when I tell you 'now', you will take us through the roof of the building: you, me, and the Kingpin's  
placeholder. Is that clear?"

"I'm not st…yes. Yes, it's clear," Julian said.

"Now," Laura said, jumping off the ledge. "Holy fuck! Jesus Christ, give me a second's warning first, okay?" he yelled after her, barely scooping  
her up in time. "Something like 'hi, I'm jumping now' would be great. Or 'catch me'."

"I did warn you. You need to move faster," Laura said. At first he thought she meant their velocity, but something in her tone made him think again.

"Did you just make a joke?" he asked, almost stopping.

"Maybe," Laura said, one corner of her mouth turning up slightly.

"You sure you're feeling okay?"

"Yes, I am fine. Why?" she asked.

"Never mind," Julian sighed.


	6. 2: Mercury Falling 3:4 promises

**A/N: **Hey! In response to your question, Laura K. Howlett...no, I am not going to follow every comic arc, just a few important ones. So far Mercury Falling got in; after this arc, I have my own which I think "Misunderstood" covers nicely. As for me, I've been picturing the Paco Medina versions in my head...with a short-haired Julian, because boys with short hair are just too cute; again, that's the nice thing about this being a written story--you're free to dream up your own version of the characters!! I'd have loved to have seen Mike Choi draw Julian though. Or Salvador Lacorra drawing them both, holy fuck! Drool wiper I need your services!! Hehe. And Julian is the 19 and Laura's the 17. I have a thing for the boy bein' older than the girl, it's just right that way. Oh yeah and the boy's got to be taller too. I am mighty particular in how I choose my men! XD My man's lucky he made it through my intricate screening process. Okay...regarding the chapter...and PEE ESS I think Helix is an awesome name for them (it also happens to be the name of a character on Star Trek Voyager, lol).

**Chapter notes:** This chapter is one I've been waiting to upload with glee. I laughed alot writing it! Yeah its lame to laugh at your own jokes but I don't care, I think it's funny. Since I have more room to work with Julian's character, (as I have said before) I am granting him with more of a sense of humor than he has in the comics. Enjoy compliments of the chef

* * *

** Chapter 6: promises**

* * *

"Stop right fucking there, punk."

Laura watched calmly as she and her companion were surrounded by guns; one each was poked into their heads.  
The Kingpin's placement, a scruffy, obviously mutant man with odd hair marched up to them with a self-important air,  
and Julian glanced over at Laura, fighting the overwhelming urge to laugh. The man reminded him of Dark Helmet from  
Spaceballs. She gave him a warning glance and a small shake of her head, almost irritated.

"The name, dead boy, is the _Owl_. Remember it for the rest of your life…" he paused for dramatic effect. "…which should  
be about three more seconds."

'_Coz I'll die laughing,_ Julian thought, and a small chuckle escaped him. Laura glared at him, and he had no doubt she'd  
have kicked him if she could reach.

"Be quiet, Julian." She warned him. "We are looking for information."

The Owl motioned for them to be brought to his desk, which he shuffled around, like his pants were around his ankles  
or something. Julian turned red, trying not to give in to his laughing fit. Nothing made a situation funnier to him than  
when he was not allowed to laugh.

"The Kingpin's favorite assassin coming to me and begging for help. My, how the tables have turned." The Owl clasped  
his hands on the desk in front of him, looking delighted. _He must be lonely,_ Julian thought, and another snort made it past his control.

"Make another noise, boy, and I'll chew your tongue and eyes right out of your head." The Owl gave him what he must have  
thought was a fierce look, but it was more of a constipated grimace. "I'm sorry," Julian said, his voice wavering.

"Julian, stop talking." Laura said dismissively. "Now, Owl, do you have the information we're looking for or not?"

"You dare talk to me like that? The respect you showed Fisk, you will show it to _me_, little girl!" The Owl snarled.

Julian had a hard time imagining anyone respecting this man, let alone Laura.

"You are only in control of Kingpin's territory because he left the country. You will remain in power only until he returns or someone kills  
you," Laura said, placing her hands on the Owl's desk top. "So no, I will not show you the same respect."

"You're dead, girl! You and your pretty boyfriend are _dead!_"

"Well, I'd rather be dead than look like you," Julian said, unable to resist any longer. "How do you get up in the mornings?"

"KILL THEM!" the Owl screeched, reaching his limit.

"Now," Laura said, her eyes dancing. He wasn't sure, but he thought he'd heard a quiet noise of amusement from her. He made  
a fist and the three of them—himself, Laura, and the Owl, shot straight up into the air, level with the twenty-story buildings.  
There were no sounds up here, except that of the Owl whimpering softly and wringing his hands.

"The first rule of negotiation: know who you're dealing with. The Kingpin told me that," Laura said. "Tell me where the facility is operating out of."

"I don't know!" the small man screeched.

"I think I know why you're called the Owl," Julian mumbled, rubbing his aching ear. "God, you scream like a little girl."

"Be quiet, Julian," Laura said. "You have three seconds to divulge the information." She nodded to Julian.

"You see that? She's letting me count," he said, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Do you _know_ who she is?" the Owl yelled at him. "She's X-23! She's not a human, don't let her appearance fool you! She'll eat you for supper, boy!"

"I'll die a happy man, then. Oh, uh, one…"

"I'm not playing your little game!" The Owl folded his arms and tried to look confident of himself. Julian slipped his arm around Laura's  
waist, and began waving his other fist up and down. The Owl swung around in a circle, then hung upside down by his ankles,  
his weird robes billowing over his head.

"Nice underwear. I like fire trucks as well. TWO…"

"Lemme go!"

Julian released his hold for a second, and the small man screamed. "OKAY! I'LL TELL YOU! PUT ME DOWN!" he gasped.

"I didn't get to say three," Julian said sulkily as Laura listened to the man's information.

…

"What now? We just storm their base?" Julian asked, dangling his legs off the rooftop beside Laura. "You and I make a pretty  
good team, huh, beautiful?"

"You talk too much," Laura said, watching him through hooded eyes.

"You _like_ it," he teased. "I heard you laugh, don't lie."

"Yes," Laura said. "Laughing will get us killed, though." She ran her eyes down his body, and suddenly he didn't feel like laughing.  
At all. "Damn, don't do that," he said. "We got shit to do."

"Yes," Laura said simply.

"Are you scared? Going back there?"

"Yes," Laura repeated. "I don't know if we'll come back."

"Damn," Julian mumbled. "Well, we're X-men. X-men always come back, some way or another. There's some that have been  
resurrected three times."

"Yes," Laura responded.

"It'll be okay," he said more seriously. "I won't let them hurt you. They won't know I'm coming. If they touch you—if they hurt you—I swear to God—"

"Will you kill her?" Laura asked, catching his gaze. "Will you kill Kimura for me?"

"I…" Julian stopped, rubbing his neck. He was confused. He'd stopped at hurting Kimura seriously, before; since that first encounter,  
he'd gotten to know Laura a lot better. He'd listened to her tell him stories at night, of being in a cell—being a weapon—he'd held her  
in his arms, he'd come to appreciate her company even though she wasn't talkative. And he loved her smile.

"It won't be okay until Kimura is dead," Laura said quietly. "I have killed Nimrod, I have killed Magneto, I have killed two hundred sixty two people  
in my lifetime, but I cannot kill Kimura."

Julian pulled her closer so her head rested on his chest. "Look…if she tries to kill you again—if she tries to break your neck or something—yes, yes I'll kill her.  
Only if your life is in danger, Laura. I would kill to save your life."

"Do you love me?" she asked, pulling back.

"I…yes," he said.

"…" Laura opened her mouth, looking uncertain. "I love you, too," she said in the quietest voice he'd ever heard her use. She looked terrified.

"You should not come with me. I do not want you to die."

"I won't die. I think I've demonstrated that I can take care of us."

Laura looked down. He caught her chin with his fingers and kissed her deeply, enjoying her unique taste. She always had a minty,  
wild aroma about her, like she'd slept in an herb garden.

"C'mon, let's hit it," he said.


	7. 2: Mercury Falling 4:4 homecoming

**A/N:** Yeah, I hope they add Julian. I'm worried though...X-force is about killing and I don't think Julian's willing to kill anyone. Bummer. Plain ol' boring hero he is! lol that sounds so bad!

* * *

**Chapter 7: homecoming**

* * *

"Kill them!' the guard wearing elaborate-looking armor yelled, brandishing his stun-taser threateningly.  
"Maximum force! X-23 is _alpha_ threat! Take down the other mutant as a second priority!"

"Actually, I might be a bit more of a threat here," Julian commented, firing three discs of telekinetic energy  
at the man as he maintained a smooth bubble-shaped shield around himself and Laura with the other. The  
attack struck the man in his solar plexus; he went down almost instantly and did not get up. "Why do I _always_  
end up being 'that guy'? No one ever plans to take me out first. _Stay close to me!_" This last comment was  
directed at Laura, who had turned to strike at an opponent approaching the bubble.

Julian turned and zapped the man with a quick bolt, then swept his arms in a circle. A wave of green flowed  
over the room, sending all the men clattering to the ground, unconscious.

"No need to thank me or anything," he grinned at Laura as she stood, retracting her claws and panting. She  
glanced up at him with raised eyebrows. "I was not going to," she said seriously.

"I was joking—ARRGH!" Julian fell to his knees, covering his ears with his hands. Kimura was standing behind them  
with a hand-held siren, somewhat like a personal alarm—only ten times louder and more piercing.

"I love telekinetics. They're so over-confident," Kimura said with a smile. "Mind powers are useless  
when you can't form a thought."

Julian squinted up at her, trying to fight the sound, but the woman was right. He couldn't seem to concentrate  
enough on the area of his brain that focused the energy flow. Beside him, Laura wasn't even covering her ears;  
she was sitting motionless, twitching occasionally, with blood trickling down her cheeks from her ears and her  
nose. "Feels like your brain is turning to mush, doesn't it? Well, trust me…it's nothing compared  
to what the poor little clone is feeling."

"Nnnn!" Julian groaned.

"So, X, you've got yourself a boyfriend. I'm impressed…but you've got a lot to learn about first dates." Kimura  
grabbed Laura's long hair, twisting her fingers in the roots and lifting Laura off her feet. "Keep watching,  
handsome! You won't want to miss this." She reached behind her, dropped the siren, flipped a buck knife  
out of her utility belt, and plunged it up to the hilt in Laura's stomach. Julian's ringing ears heard a small  
wet cracking noise that sounded like Laura's spine breaking.

"Welcome home, X," Kimura said, looking genuinely pleased.

"NO!" he yelled, scrabbling to his feet and throwing everything he had at Kimura. She smashed into the tiled  
wall behind them so hard that it cracked around her figure. She remained suspended, upside down, while  
Julian shook his finger in her face, unable to control his anger. "Do you hear me?! You're DEAD!"

"Kill her, Julian," Laura said weakly, pulling out the knife with a sickening sound.

"Laura?" he asked, surprised. He knew she healed…but it was still hard to adjust to. He'd just seen  
Kimura successfully commit murder.

"Do it. You have to kill her," Laura mumbled. "You promised."

Julian looked back and forth between the dangling Kimura and his now blood-covered girlfriend.

"She's a monster…she deserves to die." Laura held her hand to her stomach, closing her eyes. It was quite painful;  
thousands of tiny nerve endings had been severed, and the blade had punctured her spinal cord; it was taking  
more than a moment to heal completely.

"No…I-I can't…" Julian looked away.

"You have to do it, Julian! Nothing else will hurt her!" Laura almost let out a sob. Why was he going back on  
his word? Kimura had just tried to kill her.

"She's right about me. To bad you and I both know you don't have the stones to do me in, kid," Kimura piped up  
from where she was pinned against the wall, smirking. "Got between her legs yet? I hear she'll let you, for the right price…"

Julian made a face. "Can't be hurt, huh?" he asked. He made motions with his fist, knocking Kimura around the  
room like a basketball and then shooting her up through the roof, skidding her butt against the wall, at mach  
speed. "AHHHH!" Kimura screamed, her voice fading into the distance.

"We have to be better than them, Laura," Julian said quietly. "Now let's find Cessily." Laura watched him from behind,  
appearing almost impatient. Her hand tightened on the knife, then it clattered to the floor. "You will regret letting  
her go," she said tiredly. "She always comes back."

"She's outclassed," Julian said. "She's also kinda dumb, too. After all, she did forget I was still in the room. Dropped  
her little thingamajig." He picked up the siren, and reduced it to a pile of melting plastic in his hand.

Laura's expression did not change.

**…**

"You have to take Cessily and run." Laura studied the metal-coated beasts before her, reading their body language.

They were circling to attack.

"Laura…" Julian said, crouching beside Cessily. His shoulder was a bloody mess, where he'd been bitten by one of the  
monsters; bone could be seen. Laura had studied it out of her peripheral vision, and knew he didn't have many more  
minutes of consciousness. "I will hold them off for as long as I can."

"No. Not leaving you." Julian grabbed her shoulder to steady himself. "Cessily is in shock. You will pass out soon from  
blood loss. You have to run," Laura said, frustrated but putting her arm around his waist as he wobbled.

"We all go, or none of us do," he said, gritting his teeth.

"Oh…Laura…Laura…they took part of me. My flesh…they need my mercury…please don't let them take me back…" Cessily  
moaned from behind them. Laura's claws slid out. "I won't," she said firmly. She nudged Julian towards their teammate,  
then leapt to meet the oncoming beasts, all claws extended and hair flying. She became a blur of metal and flesh,  
attempting to fend off all three creatures at once; and for a while, she succeeded. Her foot-claw slid easily through  
the mercury coated flesh of one Predator X, and it tumbled to the floor, dead. The other two rounded for a new attack.

One caught her thigh, and the other her arm. A single movement would rip her to shreds. Julian scrambled to his knees and  
gave it his last effort; the beasts were blown upwards and away like rockets; while he collapsed headlong on the floor.

"Have to run…get up, Julian," Laura gasped, getting to her knees. She saw him lying in a pool of his own blood. "Get UP!"  
She crawled to him and frantically pulled his torso up as she got to her feet. His head lolled to the side.

"They took part of me…" Cessily said, staring hard at the beast beside her. She reached out and touched its hide; the  
mercury coating it snaked up her arm in coils, giving her enough material to complete her legs.

"Cessily, we have to run!" Laura shouted, struggling to hold Julian up. "CESSILY!" The beasts were bounding down the  
passage towards them; and at that moment, the door beside them opened to reveal a troop of about twenty more facility  
soldiers. "Take them down!" their leader bellowed, pointing at Laura.

Her eyes filled with tears, and Julian slipped to the floor, only his hand in hers. Laura looked down. It would be kinder to kill  
her friends than allow the facility to detain them further. She'd known this, all of this, was a bad idea.

The ceiling burst open, and Laura looked up weakly, not sure what to expect. She'd never been so relieved; many of the  
school's teachers, and the rest of the new X-men were floating down from the Blackbird, with Cyclops in the lead.

**…**

Julian was being healed in the corner, swearing in pain, and Cessily was rocking back and forth, her eyes out of focus.  
The other X-men were accounting for the unconscious soldiers, finding methods to detain them while they waited for  
the authorities to arrive. Laura looked down; she knew the 'authorities' would do nothing. The facility would always  
continue, until everyone was dead.

"You were right. I should have left the school." Laura looked at Emma Frost in the eye, her face covered in flecks of blood.

"Laura, I—"

"Now Cessily will never be the same…" They both looked towards the red-headed girl, feeling regret.

…

"Laura…talk to me?" Julian asked, leaning into her doorway. His shoulder was still bandaged; Elixir had said he would  
always have a small scar there. The damage had been quite severe, and the fangs of all the Predator X creatures  
had been filled with venom that effected healing.

"Go away," she said, looking out the window sadly.

"It wasn't your fault. You know that, right?"

"Please, leave. I cannot affiliate myself with you any longer." She did not look at him. "I am terminating the…communication between us."

"No!" Julian barged into the room, catching Laura by surprise. "You're not just going to end things like that because  
of some stupid _shit_ a bunch of fucked-up-in- the-head humans did! I love you! There, I said it, straight! Laura?"

He'd grabbed her by the wrist, and now he was looking down. His fingers were wet with blood that coated the skin of her arm.

On the other hand were two blood-smeared claws.

"Laura—oh, god, what are you doing?" he asked, grabbing her other hand. She tried to resist, her eyes welling up. "It hurts!"  
she said. "You do not understand! Please, just leave me!"

"You were cutting yourself," he said, still not believing. "Why? Why are you hurting yourself? How could you _do_ shit like this?"

"I kill people," Laura pointed out calmly, despite the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Julian…you do not understand. Please. Go."  
She looked down. "No," Julian said angrily. He pulled her out of the chair. "Make me understand. _Tell me_. And I want you not to  
ever, ever do that again. You don't hurt yourself. You don't need to! No body needs to!"

"I can't feel anything!" Laura snapped in his face, "I feel this! It is the most real thing I have ever felt here! Pain is the only thing  
that's real!" She twisted her hands, releasing her wrists from his grasp; then she gave him a hard shove.

"You don't have to hurt yourself. You could talk about it."

"Talking does nothing for me," Laura growled. "Why are you so upset? My power is self healing. Nothing I have done has  
damaged me permanently in any way."

"That's not the point," Julian said, his voice rising. "You're damaging your _mind_ by letting yourself think that way! You let  
yourself think you need to hurt…that's not the way it is, Laura! No one needs to hurt. You're innocent."

"I am not innocent! I have killed hundreds of people!" Laura yelled, her claws sliding out. "I want to kill you right now. Please, go."

"It's not your fault. Your creators made you…and forced you to do what they wanted. _You_ didn't choose this…any of this.  
As soon as you got free…if you enjoyed what you did, Laura, you wouldn't be doing this now." Julian shook his finger at her.  
"And I don't think you really want to kill me. First off, you couldn't if you tried. And second off, you're just upset. And third,  
you'd miss my jokes too much. You'd regret doing it."

"Your jokes are bad," Laura said, wrinkling her nose. The corners of her mouth quivered, though. It was hard for her to  
resist the temptation of smiling; Julian was being entirely serious, and yet his ego still took first priority. He was also quite  
attractive—cute would have been the word, if she had understood what it meant and was familiar with its usage.  
His blue eyes fascinated her; a peculiar habit of his was to open them wide when he was distressed or concentrating.  
They usually squinted otherwise.

"Give it another try, please," he said urgently. "I know it hasn't been the best, Laura—but it'll get better. I won't let them  
hurt us again—I'll be more careful. I'm sorry it happened, I should have listened to you. Please?"

Laura paused. It was a hard choice to make.

"Yes."


	8. 3: Changes in the Wind 1:3 sofia

**A/N: **It should be noted that I have now organized the chapters by arcs in their titles, so it'll be easy to identify when a new arc starts and ends. Each arc has its own title; and if it's based off an actual comic arc, it will usually have that arc's name. Each individual chapter also has a title. Just thought it was cool XD

* * *

** Chapter 8: sofia**

* * *

"They have come back! My powers!"

Julian stared in disbelief at Sofia, who was standing in the doorway of the rec room, a tote bag on her shoulder, a wide  
smile on her pretty face. Her eyes sparkled, and she stretched out her arms, obviously expecting a hug. He felt at a loss;  
what else could he do? He got up from the couch and hugged her.

"That's great, Sofia. I always knew they would. Are you back at the Institute for a bit, then?" He rubbed the back of his neck.  
Sofia always managed to make him feel like a jerk, somehow, like his words didn't come out right.

"I'm here to stay," she said happily. "Oh, I am so happy to see you! I dreamt about you…quite often…I missed you the most, you know."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, grinning. Sofia reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, something she used to do before  
she'd left the Institute. His smile faded as he looked over Sofia's shoulder and caught a movement in the dark hallway  
outside the rec room. _Laura, oh shit._

"Sofia, I, uh…" he swallowed. "I have to go talk to someone."

"Oh?" she asked. "Well, I will be upstairs, reestablishing my room. Come knock anytime, I would be happy to catch up with you."

**…  
**

"Laura!" he called a few minutes later, running down the driveway towards the front gates. "Wait up! Where are you going?"  
She was marching full speed ahead down the paved path, obviously upset. "Stop!" He finally used his power on her and ran  
the last few feet; he was unable to fly on the grounds outside certain circumstances without tripping ONE sensors.

"Release me," Laura said, glaring at him.

"Look…I think you saw Sofia…she used to be my girlfriend, here at the Institute," he said, touching Laura's hand. "I…she lost  
her powers during M-day, and we bickered about some shit I said…about humans shouldn't stay at the school. I got over her…  
she doesn't mean anything to me anymore."

"You lie," Laura said accusingly. "I could _smell_ the hormones, Julian. I could hear your respiration rate increase by ten ventilations  
per minute and you pulse quicken by point five beats per second. You are attracted to her."

"Laura, for fuck's sake, I can't help what my body does. I'm not interested in her anymore. I'm into you now,  
I wouldn't even consider going after her."

"Release me," Laura repeated firmly. "I do not wish to discuss this."

Julian sat down on the grass beside the driveway and drew his knees up into a cross-legged position. "Nah. I'm going to sit here  
all afternoon, holding you right there in place until you decide to think about what I just said. I don't have classes, and I've got all  
day. Besides, it's a nice view." He grinned up at her.

Laura folded her arms. "I will ask Miss Frost to release me. You will get in trouble for this. It conflicts with the Institute's code of conduct."

"Pssht. I'm so scared, you're going to tell mommy," he said, waving his hand at her. "After all I've done for the X-men, I seriously  
doubt I'd get anything more than a glare from Cyclops, which I can fully handle."

Laura scowled. It had been an idle threat; she would rather suffer bodily harm than admit weakness.

**…  
**

"Hey, what's going on down there?" Santo asked, looking out the window with a confused frown. "Ain't that Julian and X on the lawn?"

Cessily approached the window, and she, too, adopted the same puzzled expression. "Look, Laura's glowing. It looks like Julian's holding  
her there. But…why? Why would he be holding her in one spot?"

"This Institute is weird," Santo said in exasperation. "I done my share of weird shit, but every time I think I've hit the top mark, someone  
out does me. Dude, seriously…what the fuck? I wish I was one of those tele-ma-thingies."

"Telepaths," Cessily said dryly.

"Yeah, that," he replied. "Speaking of telemapaths, I think the Cuckoos are smokin' hot, don't you? Think one of them would sleep  
with me? Or all three?"

"Probably not even in your dreams," Cessily replied. "Seeing as they can control them. C'mon, let's order the pizza, I'm starving."

**…**

Three hours later, Laura began to shift uncomfortably. Julian had fallen silent, and was trying to find a four leaved clover in the grass.  
He'd made her stand through all his conversation, which ranged from cloud formation to Irish myths to feats he had performed in the  
X-men (probably fabricated), to a long and detailed explanation on how he folded his socks and organized them by  
color and usage (when he got really bored).

"I have urinate," Laura said finally, flushing. She did not like admitting weakness, but she refused to wet herself like an animal.

She'd felt like one enough in her H.Y.D.R.A cell at the facility.

"Aw, poor thing," Julian said. "Oh my god! I think I found one! No, wait, it was two stuck together. I mean, if you've changed your mind,  
and you believe me, I'll let you go, but not otherwise. Remember, it's going to get cold soon, and I'm wearing a lot more than you are."

He grinned. "So…do you believe me?"

Laura closed her eyes, her teeth pressed firmly together. She wanted to say no—but Julian would not allow her to leave. And she did  
need the washroom, quite badly. Badly enough to lie…something she'd never done before. It grated on her nerves to admit weakness.

"Yes. Please release me." She almost fell forwards, her knees stiff from standing in one spot for so long. "See? That wasn't so hard,  
was it?" Julian got to his feet and offered her his hand to hold. Laura reached for it, then her eyes rose to the school almost of their  
own accord. Instinctively she jerked back the appendage from his grasp, looking away.

"This location is too visible," she said quietly in response to his 'huh' sound.

**…**

"It's getting really weird. I saw Julian and Laura on the front lawn this morning. He was just sitting there…and _she_ was standing there,  
glowing. You know…that green halo that his powers cause…" Cessily paused for breath. "And they stayed there for _three_ _hours._  
Then they just left. I don't understand it."

"What is there to understand?" Sooraya asked, folding sheets calmly. "What Julian and Laura do on their own time…is there own  
business. I do not understand why I—or anyone else—should be involved in their private matters."

"That's totally not the point!" Cessily exclaimed. "I'm totally hoping they that Laura likes him! Laura _needs_ human contact. She's been  
without it for so long…it'll help her feel more at home. And Julian…well."

Sooraya raised her eyebrow, so the tip of the arch disappeared under her burqa.

"Has not Sofia returned?" she asked, despite herself. She'd always liked the gentle-natured girl with wind powers. She'd felt sad when  
Sofia had left the institute; it was just one of the many goodbyes she'd had to say recently.

"Yeah," Cessily said, biting her lip. "That'd cause problems. _Ohmigod! _Maybe _that's_ what that was all about. Laura looked upset, really  
upset. Maybe Julian's going to be seeing Sofia again."

"Would you not be upset if Julian held you in place that long?"

"Well, yeah. But, I mean, she looked _hurt_. For all her supposed training and stuff…Laura's emotions are like an open book, girl can't hide  
anything. I'm no telepath but even I can see how seriously she takes things."

"You are not a telepath, but you are…what is the word? To observe." Sooraya put down the sheet, frustrated, then picked it up again.  
She was getting better at English—her accent didn't make people ask her to repeat herself as much anymore—but more complicated  
words still slowed her communication down. The fact that she was living in a society with completely different laws, ideals and rights  
than her home was also difficult; this was the main reason that Sooraya tended to shy away from gossip—she didn't understand it.

"Observant," Cessily said thoughtfully.

"Who's observing what-now?" Santo asked suddenly, poking his head into the room. Cessily gave a started screech, her elbows  
slipping off the edge of the bed rail, and biting herself in the process. Sooraya dropped the sheet again and placed a hand over her heart.

"You, ya creep," Cessily said, scowling. "Learn to knock, kay? THANKS."

"But that takes the fun out of it," Santo said, grinning. This made several stones in his face crack, and a fine wisp of dust floated to the floor below.

"Ohmigod! I just swept there! Get lost, you asshole!" Cessily whined. She got off the bed and procured a broom and dustpan, heading  
towards Santo with a slightly deranged expression. He weighed the odds of her beating him with a broom—Cessily was normally  
none-violent, but stranger things had happened, and the girl _was_ a clean freak—and decided it was time to scram.

**…**

Julian paused on his way to his room, seeing that Sofia's door stood slightly open. Her light was on. He was hesitant; he didn't want to mess  
with forces that obviously upset Laura; on the other hand, he thought it was ridiculous that he should let her choose his friends. _Whipped,_ he  
thought, annoyed; he knocked on the doorframe. "Sofia?" he called softly, just in case she was asleep. "You up?"

"Julian! Come in," she answered. He pushed the door open slightly and saw that she was sitting at her desk, working on a piece of ruled paper.

"What's that?"

"It is an essay outline on Shakespeare," she said, smiling. "My eyes are about to cross with boredom. How are you?"

"Not bad," Julian said, fiddling with the change in his pockets.

"I realize it must be difficult, seeing me again after…" Sofia looked down, color rising to her cheeks. "I have forgiven you, though; most of my  
reaction, at the time, was out of hurt and anger over losing my powers. It was not you. And I am sorry too…I do not think you meant ill."

"Oh—yeah," Julian said, nodding. "To be honest, I pretty much forgot all about the fight. For what it's worth, I'm sorry, too. I guess a mutant  
who becomes a human is still a little different from a plain-ol-flatscan."

Sofia worked her teeth and smiled. "I could offer argument, but I do not wish to. That is behind us now; all that is important is that I have  
returned, and we have forgiven each other. Now we can pick up where we left off."

"Oh—uhh—" Julian felt awkward; this was possibly exactly what he had been afraid would happen. He'd been fervently hoping that Sofia  
would not directly question him on the topic, for some reason; he should have known better. Sofia tended to be very direct and not skate  
around issues. In that sense, she was like Laura. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Sofia, but I'm seeing—there's someone else, now."

Sofia looked down.

"Oh," she said.

There was an uncomfortable silence, the only sound being the change in Julian's pockets turning over, and the ticking of the clock.

"Yeah," he said again, for loss of words. "Well—good luck with your essay. Danger room tomorrow, at seven sharp. Still got your uniform?"

"Yes," Sofia said. She did not look up as Julian said his goodnight and exited the room; a few minutes later, her door shut, and quiet  
sniffling could be heard through her open window.


	9. 3: Ch in the Wind 2:3 bermuda triangle

**A/N:** this chapter was originally named 'the danger room', but after reading one review that mentioned the bermuda triangle, i decided that just fit too well. hope ya don't mind 8D

* * *

** Chapter 9: bermuda triangle**

* * *

"Okay, the drill's changed, Sofia. As you know, a lot of people are gone—Laurie, Wither, Kevin. X-23—Laura—joined the team.  
Um, Santo can now completely break down and reform his body without dying. And, um, me and David are the team leaders.  
Keller butts in every now and then when he's not wanted." Nori adjusted her gauntlet as she spoke; she had a full charge,  
and it was itchy. "Laura's powers—she's basically Wolverine—she's his clone—except she has two claws instead of three  
on her hands, and one in each foot—and no metal on her bones."

"Oh, wow," Sofia said, adjusting her uniform. "Everything is completely different from how I remember it. I hope I will be able to adjust!"

Sooraya smiled, her eyes forming crescents behind her burqa. "Do not worry, Sofia, you will be fine."

"Practice makes perfect," Nori said. "It's great to have you back. It's great to _add_ an old face instead of losing one."

She looked down. "A lot of people have died lately. It's been crazy."

Cessily glanced at Julian, who was standing in the back of the group, arms folded, looking uncharacteristically unsure of himself,  
and being unusually quiet. Laura was beside him, watching them all studiously; her face expressionless, her eyes, at the moment,  
were on Sofia; possibly amusing herself with thoughts on coffin size._ I don't know. What _does _Laura think about when she's bored?_  
she wondered, unconsciously touching her lips.

"Let's start!" Nori said, and Cessily snapped out of her musings. "Oh crap, what were the parameters?" she asked Sooraya.

"Coordination," Santo answered for her. "We got to get the timing down. Going to be a bitch…we just about had it right last time,  
9 out of 10, then Sofia shows up. We're gonna be a 1 all over again! We should give up now and watch TV."

"Shut up, Santo," Nori yelled.

…

Laura hurtled through the air, her limbs tucked closely into her body to form a ball. She completed her flip, on the way bringing her claws  
through a U-man holding a razor gun at Nori. She took the weapon and hefted the strap around her head; she'd long ago learned to seize  
whatever arsenal was available to her to allow for quicker mass-death. This scenario was far too easy for her, but the rest of the team  
needed work on their coordination; so Cyclops had requested that she attend the practices. It did not bother her.

It did, however, bother her to look up and see Sofia and Julian in the air, fighting flying robotic devices together. Especially when  
one knocked Sofia back, and she collided with him.

"I am sorry, Julian," Laura heard Sofia say. The other girl put her hand on his chest, in a seemingly apologetic gesture.

Laura's fists tightened, and she almost didn't catch the U-man sneaking up behind her; however, her ears alerted her in time, and  
she delivered a blade-tipped roundhouse kick to her potential attacker's gut, rendering him incapacitated. Dropping to a crouch,  
she sprayed metal shards at the troops engaging Sooraya, Cessily and Santo.

**…**

"X-23! I wish to speak to you!"

Laura halted in her tracks and eyed Sofia tensely. The girl with the extremely long ponytail was smiling and walked towards her,  
her hair and costume accessories floating on the wind that seemed to always surround her.

She couldn't even put her feelings into thoughts; but Laura felt that Sofia was everything she could not be—sophisticated, human. Emotional.  
She was kind and caring and calm; she exuded a feeling of calm about her personage. How could she, the living weapon who existed to  
destroy life—and had not a clue about how to live it—ever compete? Laura didn't delude herself; she knew this would be a competition.  
Julian would naturally choose this girl over herself, and in the end, it was for the better. Her strategic mind analyzed how easy it would be  
to push him away now; it would be safer for the school.

"Do not _ever_ call me that," Laura said, surprising herself with the venom in her voice. It came out strong, like the time she had addressed  
Dr. Rice as an animal while kicking him over and over in the stomach. The man who had caused her. Did she hate Sofia as much?

"Oh," Sofia said, looking surprised. Her hands naturally rose into the air; expression through limb movement. Body language. Laura's eyes  
narrowed. "What should I call you then? I just wanted to get to know you…I like to know the teammates I am working with. I thought…we could be friends."

"Laura. My name is Laura Kinney." Laura paused. "I do not wish to talk to you. I do not wish to be friends. Bad things happen to people  
who affiliate themselves with me, and I do not wish to endanger you."

Sofia's eyes opened wide; there was no mistaking the hostility in Laura's tone. "I am sorry…I did not mean to…"

"I do not wish to discuss this," Laura said, turning away. She left Sofia standing in the hallway, nervously fiddling with a strap on her gloves.

Laura's hands were shaking as she entered the elevator towards her room; she needed release.

**…**

Later, when enough blood had been shed to make her feel numb, Laura decided to try the shower in her suite; something she had not done  
before because she preferred the tiled girls' locker room . She could not reasonably access the locker room now, however, due to the fact  
that she was almost entirely coated in blood. She turned on the faucet, setting it to its hottest degree, and stepped in, wincing at the  
sting on her freshly-healed skin; however, she soon began to enjoy the tingling as she grew accustomed to it. It was reminiscent of  
whatever it was that Julian sometimes did to her.

"No," she said aloud, slapping her hand against the steel wall of the shower. She did not wish to think about _him_ right now. It disturbed her;  
it hurt her in areas she'd never even known existed. Even her mother's death had not touched these areas; they seemed to be of a different quality.

Her ears suddenly pricked; she'd heard breathing. She realized she'd been subconsciously aware of another person entering her bedroom for a while,  
but had thought nothing of it, so distracted was she. Laura berated herself mentally; she could not allow lapses of attention like this. Too many enemies  
were waiting for a chance to attack, waiting for her guard to be down. Even sleeping, she was a light sleeper; she slept five hours a night, and woke  
at the tiniest sound, the slightest smell. She had been trained to do this as well.

Laura tilted her head slightly, Julian was peering through the crack of her bathroom door, looking slightly unsure of himself. She continued to watch him,  
so he pushed the door open sheepishly, his hand on his neck.

"Hi," he said, his head tilted down but his eyes focused upwards on her. He was still wearing his uniform, so he hadn't continued on with his day, either.

"Hi," she replied.

"I…I saw your little hallway thing with Sofia. Laura…I'm not…I want you to _know_," he said, a little desperately. "I told her…I told her there's someone  
else and that I'm not going to be with her anymore."

"…" Laura opened her mouth, but did not speak. He watched her for a moment, then pulled off his shirt, and she raised her eyebrows.  
Sometimes he was too mouthy; but at other times, he understood the needlessness of words; some things just did not need talking  
about. Laura was a great believer in 'actions speak louder than words'. Julian shed the rest of his uniform, dumping it in the corner  
with her blood-splattered gear—at which he stared at for a moment, with a grim expression—then made his way towards her and  
placed his hand on the frosted area of the glass, and pushed it aside.

"Hi," he said again.

"Hi," she replied, the corners of her mouth turning up despite herself. He stepped into the shower with her, and looked around.

"Don't you have any soap?" Julian asked, about twenty minutes later. He was bracing himself against the walls on his elbows, and  
looked considerably more tired than before. Laura looked up from his chest, not smiling anymore. "No. Perfumes irritate my olfactory  
senses." She closed her eyes. Sofia  
probably had a collection of soaps in her bathroom, and would wear them to please him.

"How the…why do you smell good then, all the time? Like…like rosemary and shit." He looked down at her, puzzled. "I always figured it  
was some kinda special soap you used."

"No." Laura touched his collar bone, watching the water run down it. "I am sorry."

"For?" he asked, moving his hands on her waist gently. "I like you just the way you are. I thought you knew that by now." He kissed her softly,  
silencing any reply she might have been forming. He thought it was adorable, how she thought she should do things different to please him.  
The initial horrors of Laura's past had ceased to weigh so heavily on his opinion of her; in the way that soldiers become numb to violence,  
he was becoming numb to the crimes of her history. If he thought about it, he almost thought it was adorable that such a small, pretty girl  
could be so dangerous and feared world-wide by criminals and soldiers everywhere. She was like Wolverine—but in a pink, soft package  
with wide green eyes and pouty lips. And boobs.

"What've you done to me?" he asked, not really needing an answer.

**…**

"You want to know what I think?" Sofia asked. "I think it was just an excuse. You are not with anyone, Julian. You are just avoiding me,  
because you are still upset. I wish you would not let that come between us…I…I loved you, Julian…and I still do."

"Woah, awkward," Julian said, rubbing his neck again. "I wasn't lying, okay? I _do_ have a girlfriend—she doesn't want anyone to know.  
It's a safety thing. It's kind of…" he trailed off, realizing how lame it sounded; but Sofia had successfully cornered him, and was  
effectively demanding an answer.

Sofia, on her part, was not being manipulative. She genuinely believed that Julian was blowing her off out of pride; she knew enough  
about him to realize that was something he might do. And the situation hurt her enough to take action; if he was just being difficult,  
it was something that could be fixed by being direct.

It was an unfortunate set of circumstances that might have been solved if either of them was telepathic, but they weren't.

"Stop lying to me," Sofia whispered, reaching up and kissing him on the lips. His eyes opened wide, then closed; it felt good…he was  
tempted to continue it, to let her lead him wherever she wished…he admitted this to himself, and for a moment his arms wrapped  
around her. _Laura,_ he thought, and just as he was about to release his hold and push her away, he heard a sound. He wasn't sure  
how he heard it—maybe it was more of an instinct, yes he had them too, that had to be it because he certainly couldn't  
have _heard_ her, quiet as she was.

Laura was staring at them with her eyes open wide.

"…" she said.

"Oh, hello X…Laura," Sofia said, oblivious. "I am sorry, we should not be dealing with personal matters in public. Julian?"

For once in his life, Julian Keller was entirely speechless. He opened his mouth, closed it, then pushed Sofia away and started  
running after Laura, who had just disappeared from the doorway.

"…" Sofia said, watching him go. "Oh, shit."


	10. 3: Changes in the Wind 3:3 revelations

**A/N: **TGIF!! A weekend treat for all of y'all (including me, I actually look forwards to getting to work on this ;) just a lil fyi) another fyi is that alan moore is teh shit- pick up some of his work if you've never read him! I've read Watchmen and V for Vendetta, and am now working on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol 1. Man is a genius XD

* * *

** Chapter 10: revelations**

* * *

"Laura! I swear, it wasn't what it looked like! You have to believe me!" Julian was panicking, more than ever before.  
Even battle hadn't made him feel like this. He knew how fragile Laura's trust was, and once broken, it could never be  
entirely regained. Oh, he had just broken it, he had just fucked up like never before.

"Stop!" He ran as fast as he could after her, entirely forgetting he was a mutant.

Laura did not speak. The time for words was over. She did not even desire what was left in her room. She ran for the  
garage, her eyes filled with the same liquid that had blinded her when she'd killed her mother. _Get out,_ some part of her  
brain demanded. She popped a claw, jammed it into the lock on the garage door, and hurried through, searching for  
something she wasn't sure of. She could hear Julian running outside, still yelling her name. Her hand hit the  
button for the electronic garage door.

There—Logan's bike. She grabbed the helmet on top of the seat and jammed it on, then swung a leg over the saddle and  
inserted a claw into the engine panel. Her fingers scrabbled through the wires, found the right ones, and with a small _zttt_  
noise the engine roared to life. She kicked the stand off and revved the engine, taking off just as Julian reached the door.  
"No!" he shouted, trying to stop the garage door from lifting entirely. Laura didn't pause to think; she drove the bike right  
through the door without flinching, and subsequently through the gates.

"What the hell?! Where's my bike?!" Wolverine roared, reaching the garage. He looked livid. "Uhh—sir—I have to go," Julian  
said, his eyes lighting up.

"Don't you dare fly! We've fucked up enough with ONE as it is! KELLER!"

Julian took off, leaving a smoking crater in the cement. The sentinels popped into view almost immediately, dropping their  
stealth shields, and two followed after him, their departure knocking over several trees. The other X-men were starting to  
trickle out; Emma, Scott; and students were leaning out of their windows to watch. "Fuckin' kids!" Logan yelled at Scott as  
he approached, a question in his expression. "We should kill the whole fuckin' lot of them! I've had it!"

"Calm down, Logan," Scott said, obviously annoyed as well. "Emma said it was Laura. Julian did something to set her off."

"I'm gonna kill him," Logan snarled, looking around. "Takin' your bike."

"No! Logan! It's not done! I'm still restoring it!" Scott cried. He'd bought a classic Harley, an antique, and was working on  
bringing it to its original factory-mint condition. He knew—just knew—that if Logan touched the thing, it would be  
damaged irreversibly.

"You're lucky I even told you, Slim," Logan said, holding his hand out for the keys. "'Course, I can't count on two hands  
how many times you've taken _my_ bike without askin'." Scott made a face and passed the keys over.

"Thanks," Logan growled.

"Don't mention it, just leave me and Emma to deal with the big angry robots," Scott sighed, turning to go deal.

…

Julian easily caught up with Laura on the highway, but found she was too agile for him to pick up. "STOP! Listen to me!"  
he shouted, trying to fly beside her. She turned right into the woods, attempting to lose him. This turned out to be a  
strategical flaw. She had, unfortunately, underestimated the level of his determination; as he simply followed her in.  
In the woods he was faster, blowing foliage out of his way while she had to maneuver around. They had just  
reached a clearing at the same moment when he spoke again. "Laura, stop."

Suddenly the bike was in the air, its wheels locking in place and the engine making an overloading sound.  
Laura span around on the seat and found herself separated from the bike as something exploded inside it.  
She wrestled with her helmet and pulled it off, revealing her tear-streaked face.

"GO!" she yelled, so forcefully that she used both her vocal chords. It came out as a strangled, terrible sound that  
made several birds that had resisted the earlier ruckus finally leave the trees.

"No. Laura, you need to hear me out! It wasn't what it looked like! _She_ kissed me first—I was just pushing her away when—"

Laura was breathing fast, her eyes noticeably bloodshot. "Release me," she said, her voice calm suddenly.  
"There is nothing more for you to say. It is better this way. Safer. Go, I do not want to kill you."

Julian stopped, a little afraid. Normally he'd brush it off, but Laura really _did_ look and sound quite creepy at the moment.

"Please," he asked her, landing on the ground. "I—I don't know what I'll do if you don't listen. I already probably  
got myself expelled by following you. There's two ONE sentinels on my trail, they're probably halfway here by now."

Laura tilted her head. "Why would you take such an unnecessary risk?"

"It's necessary," he answered, walking towards her slowly. "I don't want to be with Sofia anymore, Laura. I  
want to be with _you_. Sofia didn't get that—I tried to tell her—she wasn't listening. She cornered me—"

"You had your arms around her," Laura said, raising an eyebrow. "You did not seem to be resisting. Your  
eyes were closed, your ventilation rate and pulse increased; your body heat went up by .003 degrees Celsius…"

"Isn't that kind of normal when someone's kissing you?" he interrupted. "Try it. Kiss someone else, see what  
happens. You can't help it. I'm sure even _you_ can't control the temperature of you body."

"…" Laura paused, considering. "No."

"Come on, let's go back to the mansion, and forget this stupid misunderstanding," Julian said, extending his  
hand to her. "I…I can't imagine my life without you in it, Laura. Please come home with me."

"Home." Laura had never used that word before.

"Home," he repeated.

After an agonizing moment (for him), Laura took his hand; and Logan's bike in tow, they made  
their way back to face the music at the mansion.

**…**

"You're suspended! Both of you!" Cyclops yelled, shaking his finger at the two seated students. "Why—I can't  
understand _why_—either of you would do this! You know the rules, Keller—it fits that you need to break them—but Laura?"

"Technically, I did not break the flying policy." Laura's voice was small but serious.

"You broke the policy regarding 'damage to school grounds', and you stole a teacher's bike," Emma said coolly.  
She arched her eyebrows, and both Julian and Laura glanced at each other helplessly. The secret was out;  
and who worse to know than Frost?

_I'm disappointed in you, Julian_, Emma said, speaking only to the boy. _Why would you pick Laura? I'm sure you don't  
know about her terrible past. I think I should enlighten you. _Laura made a face, and pictures flashed in front of Julian's  
eyes. He suddenly tensed in his seat. Terrible pictures. Pictures from Laura's mind, of her looking down at her dead  
mother, of her claws severing heads, slicing through helmets and exposing brains, bones. Cutting off fingers in  
interrogations. Torturing people, innocent men with children. Torturing women.

"Nngn," Julian said, relaxing as the room cleared. Scott looked at him oddly. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"You had no right to do that!" Julian said angrily, standing up and glaring at Emma. "How could you? You just effectively _raped_ her mind!"

"I—" Emma looked astounded. She hadn't expected Julian to be upset.

Laura was still seated, looking at the ground. She was ashamed—she could feel what Frost had done, entering  
her mind and transferring pictures to the boy sitting beside her.

"Really, _Frost_, she's been through enough already, without you adding to her mental trauma! Don't fuck with our heads, okay?"

"Watch your language," Scott said. "Children, please go sit outside. Emma, a word. _Now._" Julian leapt up and stomped  
to the door, blowing it open with a bolt. Laura tailed behind, feeling strangely depressed rather than just angry  
and violated. He knew now.

"We should leave this place," Julian said angrily. "I'm not learning anything anymore. All I do is sit around in the  
danger room and blow craters in the floor trying to pick up paperclips. Everything else is a joke!"

"You would not be safe anywhere else with me," Laura said in a small voice.

"No where's _safe_, Laura," Julian said angrily. "I can't believe Ms. Frost did that. I've always been one of her favorites.  
Why would she try to manipulate us?"

"She does not like me," Laura replied. "She has informed me many times that I should leave the school. This is  
not the first time she has intruded me mentally."

"What?!" Julian grabbed Laura's wrist. "What else has she done? Have you told anyone? She's basically breaching  
Xavier's code…have you told Logan? He'd know what to do."

"Yes. I just told you." Laura looked down at his hand. "You are hurting me."

"Sorry," he said, releasing it and wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry for everything. Fuck, I want to go to bed and  
pretend this day never happened. I nearly lost you and now this—" he stopped. "Laura, will you move into my room?  
Please? I want to sleep with you every night."

"Move?" Laura asked.

"Your things. Live with me."

"You have a roommate," Laura pointed out.

"Fine—can I move into yours?" he asked.

Laura stared. "…" she said, her mind racing. She would not be able to be alone anymore. She could not continue  
her window side vigil. Then again, she had shared a room with people before; her cousin, Megan. It was Julian…  
he was waiting for a response. "Yes," she said.

**…**

"What're you guys doing? What's happening?" Cessily asked, staring at Julian and Laura. Their arms were filled with  
boxes—Julian's possessions—and Laura had an expression like a deer caught in a set of headlights.

"We are just…" Laura said. She could not come up with a logical, viable explanation for why she was holding an  
uncovered box full of men's underwear, a flute, and a tangle of computer cables.

"I'm moving in with her," Julian said bluntly. Laura closed her eyes. "Yes," she confirmed, feeling—as illogical as it was—  
as though the moment she admitted to it, the facility would invade with ten newly hatched Kimuras.

"OHMIGOD! Really? Wow! This is so great!" Cessily bounced up and down, a wide grin on her face.

"Can I help? I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Sure," Julian said. "This would go so much faster if my powers weren't under surveillance. Fucking ONE."

"You cannot tell anyone," Laura said, staring hard at Cessily. "No one must know. If information spreads, the facility could learn and capture Julian."

"…" Cessily said. She was afraid of the facility; she had nightmares every night. "I _promise,_ I won't tell anyone. I swear."

"You make me sound like you're babysitting me," Julian said under his breath. "I'm an X-man, not a five-year-old child  
you're getting ten dollars an hour to watch." Cessily grinned. "You guys are so cute together!" she exclaimed shrilly,  
reminding them both of her cheerleader past.

"…" Laura said.


	11. 4: a day in the life 1:1

**A/N:** Glad to see people like this storeh! 8) I actually have a ton of plot ideas, which I am quite excited to write, so I think it'll keep goin' for a while yet. Yey! This chapter is basically a stand-alone arc; just like the title says. Enjoy the no-cliffhangers! The next few stories may or may not keep you on the edge of your seat ;) TY for the reviews

* * *

** Chapter 11: a day in the life**

* * *

"Morning, beautiful," Julian yawned, nuzzling Laura's neck and then kissing it.

Laura looked at the window. It was well past dawn, which was when she usually got up. His hands were sliding over her  
shoulder and other curves, hidden under the sheet, and raising goose bumps along her flesh.

"We should prepare for the day," Laura said. "I do not like regenerating for so long. It is vulnerability to attack." She made  
to sit up, but Julian pulled her back down. "It's Saturday. Even the bad guys are sleeping in, beautiful," he mumbled into her  
neck, grinning.

"Please do not mock me," Laura looked down. "I am trained for certain behavior and feel uncomfortable if I do not  
follow these patterns."

"Sorry," he said, letting his hands slide off her body as she swung her legs out of the bed and stood up. He admired how  
immodest she was, showing no concern that she was completely naked as she looked out of the blinds and made an  
audible sniffing sound.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No. I am checking the weather patterns. It will begin to rain later, at 15:05. There is cloud movement from the Northern mountains  
bordering the school. Three rabbits and five squirrels crossed the lawn last night, as well as a transient with two-hundred thirty-five  
aluminum cans that had contained alcoholic beverages in a plastic garbage bag. In addition, Wolverine and Colossus have returned  
from their investigative mission. They smell of machine gunfire, possibly a rail gun."

"You can smell all that?" Julian asked, sitting up too.

"Yes," Laura said, looking at him seriously. "We have missed breakfast."

"Alright, alright, I'm up," he said, holding his hand up in defeat. "Shower?"

"…" Laura said. "Yes."

…

As they entered the cafeteria, Laura slowed down, separating herself from Julian. She did not want them to be seen together; she still  
believed that it was safer if it was not general information. He glanced at her, then took a seat between Cessily and Sooraya, while  
Laura chose an end seat beside Nori.

After lunch she disappeared as usual; she usually spent her Saturdays by the window. Now she would have to find a new place to  
maintain her vigil; she decided to climb to the school's observation deck on the roof.

She sat by the bars of the railing, holding her knees to her chest, as she used to do in her cell long ago. She rocked back and forth  
gently, watching the mansion lawn. It was peaceful up here; sounds were slightly deafened by the amount of distance and wind in  
between herself and the originators. Laura touched the bars; Julian was on the lawn with a few of the other boys from the team,  
playing some mutated version of football, and yelling at Santo for some sort of offence.

For a moment, though it was illogical, Laura wished she could go back to were she was just stalking Julian—watching him—and longing.  
She did enjoy his company, and she was the closest to happy that she had ever been—but she was so, so afraid. Something terrible  
was coming to damage them all irreversibly, even more so than had happened already; every nerve in her body demanded her to be  
alert. Pay attention. She was terrified that she would be the cause. She did not want to be the reason Julian was damaged. Distancing  
herself would be better—she could handle that sort of pain. Manage it.

"Deep thoughts, kid?"

Laura looked over her shoulder as Logan finally rounded the corner from the staircase, cigarette in his mouth.

"Yes," she said in a small voice.

Logan leaned over the railing, then after a moment's consideration, sat down beside her and patted her on the shoulder. "My little clone,"  
he said affectionately. "You completely totaled my bike. I had to rebuild the engine from scratch, and Scott wouldn't let me expense the parts."

"I am sorry." Laura looked down.

"Nah, don't be," Logan grinned and blew out a cloud of smoke. "I like tinkering with stuff. I added a few improvements to it. I been coddling  
it for too long. Girl needs a good shakin' every now and then. You want your own bike?"

Laura looked up, surprised. "I…yes," she said. The word _bike_ filled her with a sense of freedom. She wouldn't be restricted to the school.

"I'll have to make sure you know how to use it," Logan teased. "I mean, legally. You'll have to take a road test and everything.  
There are road rules."

"Yes," Laura said. "I will learn." Logan mentally patted himself on the back; this had been one of his more brilliant ideas. Laura's eyes  
were lit up, sparkling; she was excited at the concept. _Kids, they're all the same. Say the word 'bike' or 'car' and they love you devotedly  
for about a week._ Logan had schooled three girls now through the art of bike driving.

"Keller treating you okay?" he asked. He hadn't asked much about the incident, figuring that even though his bike had been involved, it  
wasn't his business. He did have a sermon in store for Hellion though. He was going to deliver it tonight.

"Yes." Laura shifted her eyes to the figures on the field again, looking like she would blush if she knew how. "He has moved into my room."

"What?!" Logan jerked involuntarily. "I'm definitely going to have a little talk with Keller tonight! Did he push you into it?"

"No." Laura paused. "I…I am afraid, for his safety. But…I like…sleeping with him. It is comforting. I have fewer nightmares."

"Good," Logan said, a little less agitated. It sounded like Laura knew what she was doing. He still worried…but he knew that his  
clone-sister was a smart, logical kid, and would not choose to do something that made her uncomfortable.

As long as it was her own choice.

**…**

"A word, Keller," Logan said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

Julian paused, irritated. He'd just had a horrible training session with Dr. McCoy, in which he was supposed to unbend the paper clip entirely  
in a room full of simulated civilians. This had failed on epic proportions, and ended with every single civilian in the room being decapitated—  
and Dr. McCoy with three surprisingly large paper clip holes in his shoulder. Elixir had been called on the scene, while the said Julian,  
white-faced, tried to maintain that he knew exactly what he was doing, and that he had meant for it all to happen.

"You were annoying me," he had told Dr. McCoy sheepishly as he watched his mentor bleed on the floor.

"You almost…decapitated…yourself," Dr. McCoy had groaned.

"…" Julian felt the 'I was annoyed' philosophy would not really work for this accusation. He'd waited till Elixir had finished healing the  
paper clip wounds, then stomped out of the danger room, only to be confronted with Wolverine.

"Yeah sure, whatever," Julian said, fuming. He entered the branch of hallway that Logan had indicated—and realized his error almost  
immediately. Logan grabbed him by the collar of his uniform, fast as a cobra, and pinned him up against the wall, his claws  
sliding out of his other fist.

_Ohgodthisisithe'sgoingtokillmedontthrowup_! Julian was terrified. Logically, he could defend himself quite well against Wolverine—but Logan  
had the element of authority and legend about him that made Julian unable to think. And when he couldn't think, he couldn't use his powers.

"Word reached me that you been makin' with the other students," Logan growled in his face. "Little thing with Mantega. You got words 'fore I kill you?"

"Sir—Logan—" Julian gasped for air through his tight collar.

"I ain't been knighted yet," Logan said sarcastically.

"Did—did Laura tell you?" Julian ground out, struggling to breathe. Logan's grip tightened, and he grinned. "Nah. Laura's too good for that.  
I think she's too good for _you_, you little shit. I got my own ways of finding out." In reality, Sofia had confessed her troubles to Emma Frost,  
who had told Logan, probably because it involved Laura. "It doesn't matter who told me. You're still gonna die."

"Nnng—don't!" Julian glared at Logan. "You're all crazy! You, Frost, Dr. McCoy—all you freakin' people! I love Laura! It was a misunderstanding!"

"You love her?" Logan's grip tightened even more, and the knuckles of his other hand pressed against his stomach. Julian made a true choking sound,  
and closed his eyes, waiting for the blades to enter his abdomen. "Y-yes!" he said with effort. Just when he thought it was all over and was fearfully  
wondering if all the crap about religion he'd brushed aside before was true, Logan released him.

He fell to the ground in a heap and rubbed his throat, coughing weakly.

"You watch it, kid. Next time I won't let go till you stop breathin'."

Logan walked away, leaving Julian to wipe away the cold sweat on his forehead.

**…**

"Is something wrong?" Laura asked, looking up from the paper she was writing. Julian had just opened the door with a loud _bang_, possibly  
damaging the wallpaper; he'd also caused a clock and a calendar to crash to the floor.

"Fucking claw-people, leave me alone!" he yelled, stomping to the bed and throwing himself face down on it.

Laura raised her eyebrows. "Claw people?"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled into the pillow. "I've had a terrible day. I just want to crawl into a corner and die."

"You wish for death?" Laura asked, getting up.

"No! I didn't mean it literally!" Julian sat up, expecting her to be advancing with her claws extended. "Jesus Christ…I.." he took a deep  
breath and related the entire danger room session to her.

His bad mood suddenly evaporated when Laura broke into a smile—and made a quiet, laughing sound. He suddenly felt like a million dollars.  
God, was she really his? He smiled back at her, and rubbed his neck. He suddenly realized that his uniform was splattered with Dr. McCoy's blood.

"Shower?" he asked hopefully.

He didn't tell her about Wolverine.


	12. 5: Messiah C 1:2 just like you imagined

**A/N:** And just like that...here it is! This arc is based, obviously, on the events of Messiah Complex; and is named "Just Like You Imagined". It was written with the song of the same name by Nine Inch Nails in mind. TGFNiN!! and TGIF!! -enjoy

* * *

**Chapter 12: just like you imagined**

* * *

"LAURA!" Julian threw himself headlong at the falling girl and caught her just in time, his heart beating so hard he thought it  
would crawl out of his chest. This fight, this terrible fight. Things were getting worse and worse, tensions running high at the  
mansion over the last few months. Two months since he'd moved in with her, two months of seeing her every morning and  
holding her every night, and slowly—stupid of him really to be so slow—realizing that he wanted this for his entire life,  
whatever remained of it.

"I am alright," Laura said, her face reconstructing itself before his eyes. "Maintain your position, Julian. Do not falter because  
I appear hurt. The team is more important." Julian squeezed her tight then turned away, just in time to catch the next attack  
heading in his direction—rail guns, razor guns. His shield deflected them all; he caught knife-fragments in midair, then hurtled  
them back to their originators at mach speed. "DIE!" he yelled, thinking of Laurie. Of Laura, who'd been hurt so  
many times by people like this.

They were fighting purifiers. Dozens, possibly hundreds of them. They just kept on coming. They were faceless, limitless;  
he didn't know how much longer he could keep going. He was exhausted.

**…**

That stupid list. The cumulative point of all the trouble. He'd been standing around, watching the other kids asking who would be  
the next to die, and out of the blue, Nori had grabbed him. Kissed him. He choked on his own tongue and pushed her away,  
exclaiming "GET OFF! What the HELL, Nori?! What are you—"

He'd looked to the side, panicked. "Laura…" She closed her eyes, turned and run; he'd run after her, as fast as he could,  
as he always did. "She grabbed me! You saw it! It wasn't my fault! Laura!"

Laura whirled around, tears streaming down her face.

"What if you DIE?!" she exclaimed, and he suddenly realized she was upset for a whole entirely different reason.

"Laura…shh…I won't…" he took her in his arms and they stood for ages, trying to find comfort. Laura was visibly shaking.

"Maybe death would be better," she said in a small voice. "Horizontal incision to the radial artery, small pebbles to hold the flesh open."

"Don't talk like that, beautiful," he murmured, running his hand up and down her back. "We'll be okay. I won't let anything  
happen to you, or me. We'll live…we'll always be together." He kissed her hair. "Promise."

**…**

"You shouldn't be in here, Nori," David said.

"Hey, I can come back later if you two need some time," Julian said, raising his hands as he entered the planning room.  
He'd been involved in a conflict between Nori and David a few nights before, following the unwelcome kiss; he didn't  
want to risk a scene again. He hated scenes. It reminded him of when his parents fought savagely and bitterly, and  
he'd had to take his little brother out of the room and cover his ears. Kids shouldn't hear things like that.

"We don't _need_ any time," David said coldly.

"Shut up, both of you, and just look," Nori said in her angry, stormy way.

A news report—CNN—was stretched across the screen. Familiar figures were destroying people, landscapes.

"Son of a—" Julian gasped.

"The purifiers," David said flatly.

"That's why Cyclops told us to stay out of it. The purifiers were involved in Alaska. They may have the baby."

The baby. The last, the first mutant child to be born since M-day. The only hope for mutant kind. They'd said never again—mutants  
were to be extinct—then this miracle baby was born, and the war had begun. Julian had overheard it called the Messiah war. He'd  
never seen a darker time amongst the X-men. Already, many had fallen, and the headmaster of the school had strictly ordered  
them not to become involved. Nothing made him want action more.

"If Cyclops didn't tell us, he had a good reason. Don't do anything stupid," David said, the voice of caution.

"'Don't do anything stupid'?! Are you kidding, David?!" Nori was livid. "You were there, you know what they did!"

"David is right, Nori."

"Oh crap," Julian said, looking at the door. Professor Xavier was standing there, watching them, watching them fight like small children  
amongst themselves. To him they _were_ small children—to be protected. Julian's mouth went dry.

"Cyclops is right, as well…to a point." The Professor looked sober. "He kept that information from you to protect you. But there are more  
ways to solve a problem than charging headfirst into violence." He paused. "I know a thing or two about training mutants…I'd like to talk  
to the three of you about taking a different approach." If only they had listened. "I believe that together, we _can_—"

"Shut up. Just _SHUT UP!_" Nori screamed at the Professor.

"Nori!" David reprimanded. The Professor scowled.

"No! Where was he when we were getting killed?" Nori demanded. "Well? Where were you when we were getting blown up in buses,  
or shot in the head, or getting our hearts ripped out?! Where were you when those purifier bastards came to kill what was left of us  
in your freaking mansion?!" She almost hit the Professor in her rage, then turned away. "There's nothing you can teach us, 'Prof'…  
we already know how to die."

The Professor watched her go. "…It's been a rough year, Professor." David said. Julian turned and followed Nori out of the planning room,  
his heart torn. He knew the Professor meant well—it wasn't _his_ fault people were evil.

Still.

**…**

"I'm going after them. I thought Cyclops and I had an understanding, after everything we've been through. After everything we've done."  
Nori ground the fingertips of her gauntlets together. "The X-men want to go after the Marauders? Fine. But the _Purifiers_, that's personal."  
She paused. "They killed _forty-five_ of our friends." She stared at the reactions around the room, almost unseeing.

Julian looked at Laura, sitting on the chair close to his. He wanted to touch her hand, he wanted to hold her on his lap. It was torture,  
having her so close, yet so far. He was addicted to her. He didn't know if this was a good or bad thing.

"They didn't kill X-men, or freaking X-factor…they killed students. They killed our friends, and _we're_ the ones who took them down. Not the X-men."  
Nori glared at her troops, like a general. "So I don't care what Cyclops says. _I'm_ going after them. If they've got this baby, they're going to kill it.  
And if they don't have it…I'm still taking them out. _Permanently_." Nori paused for breath. "So who's in?"

"I'm in. These people killed Brian," Julian said, angry. Finally, revenge for his friend. Wounds that had begun to heal had opened upon seeing the  
Purifiers on the TV screen. Laura gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"I'm in, too." Cessily looked down at the rug.

"This is wrong, Noriko. To rescue the child, yes…but that's not what you want. You want blood." Sooraya, the voice of reason. "And we have  
seen far too much blood of late." She was scared, terrified.

"Try and stop me." Santo, the literal rock. "But if we rescue the baby, I'm not holding it. Babies creep me out." Also the team's comedic relief.

"I'll go, but just for the baby." The weird lizard kid—Anole. "We should talk to the cuckoos. See if they've picked up any information from the  
X-men, maybe a location. The ONE might have records on the purifiers, too."

"And I can teleport us there. But, um, I don't have to kill anyone." Pixie. "I don't have to , do I?"

"Don't do this, Nori." David was calm, focused. He knew Nori wouldn't listen. He was already making alternate plans. "What about you, Josh?  
Are you in or out?" Nori asked, ignoring her ex boyfriend.

"These people killed Laurie. If I go with you, I'll kill every single one of them. And I don't want to do that." Elixir, in the shadows. "So no, I'm  
not going. But if you need healing, you know where to find me."

"Hey…" a vaguely familiar girl was leaning on the corner wall. "Do you guys have room for one more?

**…**

"Tomorrow at dawn," Julian whispered to Laura as they lay beside each other in the bed, sweat glistening on their skin. "Seems pretty final.  
Theatrical, if you ask me." Laura looked up at him from where her head rested on his shoulder.

"I did not ask you," she said, always perfectly literal.

"I know you didn't. It's a saying." He rubbed her shoulder. "I've been thinking…Laura…if we make it out of this with both our weird heads  
intact…I want to be with you, forever. I don't care about anyone else."

"Forever is a long time." Laura's gaze did not waver.

"Yeah, it is," Julian said. "I guess it'll be even longer for you, huh? Well, I want to spend my forever with you. You ever heard of war brides?"

"Young adults engaging in marital bonds before times of battle or deportment. Yes. The topic was raised in Megan's history class.  
A notable phenomena during the times immediately preceding World Wars I and II."

"Will you be my war bride?" Julian whispered, almost afraid of the answer.

"…" Laura's eyes snapped open, and she rolled over to her elbows. "Julian…"

"I know, I know, it wouldn't be safe," he said, looking at the ceiling while still rubbing her shoulder, his thumb drawing circles on  
her skin. "Damn. I should've killed everyone in that freakin' place when I had the chance."

Laura smiled slightly, and he drew a breath. She made his heart ache, sometimes more than the death of his friends did. He imagined  
what it would be like if he had let her die, if he had never demanded that Ms. Frost open his mind, drop his mental shields, when  
Laura was dying in his arms.

"I thought…we could have an X-man do it." Laura continued to watch him. "No records. False ID. Nightcrawler. Mr. Wagner…he's a priest.  
He's the closest thing to God this mansion's got in it. It'd be legal. So…Laura?"

"…"

"No?"

"I need time, Julian. To think…" Laura paused. "I would not make…a good wife, to you…or anyone. I…I do not know if I can even  
have children. Clones are often incapable of reproducing."

"We'll adopt," Julian said. "Jesus Christ, that doesn't matter to me. I don't want a kid now, anyway. This is a terrible time. Who would  
want to bring _more_ people into this mess?" He nuzzled her neck. "Think about it."

"I will let you know."

**…**

Laura raised the window, her hair whipping around her. It was a windy night. Something had woken her—a painful, keening sound.  
She'd walked in a dream state to the window and raised it to see a strange mutant she hadn't seen much of; a fellow student at  
the school, She was standing at the edge of the roof.

"Do not jump," Laura said. "Are you asleep?"

The girl turned her head towards her. A blindfold was tied around her head.

"Excuse me, are we ever really awake? I am sorry for your loss. It would have been beautiful otherwise. It all fades away, and he does not know.  
Too late. The final gift; not as gone as you think? It devours from within, the judgment fire is coming. Difficult times are upon us and we need a  
god to watch us. No one answers prayers now. But no one is ever really ready, are they?"

Laura stopped. This was the school's precognitive student. Fear trickled down her spine, every hair stood on end.

"Is Julian going to die?" she demanded.

"We are all going to die, someday," Blindfold said. "I am sorry. But worry not, the end comes before the beginning,  
and, excuse me, no one is ever really dead."

**…**

"Laura?" Nori crawled along the cement.

"I can smell guns. I can smell the anti-telepathy implants." She paused. "They are here." Laura scooted along the wall,  
almost blending in, in the darkness.

"Finally! This is like the eighth church we've checked," Santo grumbled. Beside him, Cessily made a face.

"No kidding," Julian said, looking ahead. "That sentinel pilot narrowing it down to D.C. wasn't that helpful." They'd been hunting churches for  
the last day and a half, Laura listening for the words "baby" or "infant". The Stepford Cuckoos were on watch as well, at Cerebro.

"Anole…once we get in, I want you to find out what you can about the baby. We'll run interference." Julian had discovered that Anole's powers  
were somewhat like the ability of a chameleon to camouflage. "Laura, what do you see?"

Laura scrambled to the edge of the wall and carefully peered over. "Seven purifiers on the outside perimeter, all armed with anti-mutant  
weaponry." She turned to the group. "Two guards on the upper level, no weapons. The side entrance is the one we want...it's the  
most heavily guarded."

"Wow," Armor said.

"You ain't seen nothing yet, Armor-All." Santo's tone was serious.

…

"URK!" The Purifier arched, seizing up as Julian crushed his vertebra with a telekinetic bolt to the spine. Beside him, Cessily was suffocating  
the other guard, filling his mouth with mercury. He fell to the ground, presumably dead, and the group moved down the cobblestone staircase.  
Nori's electrified hands lit up the night and cast an eerie glow about her face.

…

"They…they don't have the baby. They don't have the baby!" Anole tried to whisper into the X-communicator, but someone muffled him  
from behind and jerked him backwards.

"Don't _even_ try to—" Anole said angrily, ramming his enlarged first into his attacker's stomach, then he recognized who it was. Vaguely.

"Rictor?! Um, sorry. Aren't you with X-Factor?"

"You have the get out of here," Rictor said, his face serious.

"What are you talking about?" Anole asked, incredulous. "The baby, it's not here…but we can still shut down the Purifiers."

"_We?_ Oh, god…the new X-men. You don't get it, kid…" Rictor looked panicked.

"We've got a much bigger problem than the Purifiers."

**…**

"Fry, you bastard!" Nori shouted, unloading a full charge on her victim. His screams echoed through the chamber, terrifying. The air smelled of burnt flesh.

Laura gagged.

"_Surge!_ Ease up!" Julian was angry. Nori lost her head so easily. "Back off, Hellion!" Nori growled, looking out of control. "No, don't do this!  
You don't want to be like—" Julian was rudely interrupted by gunfire. He raised a shield at the same time as he pushed Nori out of the  
way. "Watch out!" he shouted.

He recognized the man leading the attack, and swung his fist so hard into the man's face that several bricks broke on the wall behind  
him upon impact. "You! You were at the mansion…" It was the man whose face Sooraya had flayed.

"Yes. I've been there many times. Mr. Keller. On my first visit I sent that bus load of your friends to hell, and on the next, I put a bullet in Ms. Collin's head."

The man had the nerve to smile at something.

"And today, we will send the rest of you back to Satan."

Laura looked, too late.

**…**

Julian looked down weakly, at the finger-things sticking through his chest and abdomen. They were metal—adamantium, he thought.  
There was so much blood, but it was hard to tell, against the red of his suit. There was a finger-claw thing sticking out of the area that  
Laura had kissed just this morning—there was another were that scar his little brother had given him when he was eight and James was  
five, with a tree branch in a fight over the last cupcake—there was three bursting through normal flesh, no less valuable to him.

"Come to me, children. Come to Deathstrike." Sounds were fading in and out, and Julian blinked, trying to bring the group into focus.  
Actually he didn't care about the group so much, he just cared about Laura. He hadn't really thought he would die today. Not now.  
He wasn't finished…God, there really _was_ a white room…he reached out and touched Laura's hand, the only one to advance with  
a pale face. She caught his body tenderly as it slid off Deathstrike's talons.

"Pixie, teleport us. _NOW._" Laura was so direct and commanding, calmly holding Julian's body, that Pixie obeyed, all of them popping  
out of existence and re-popping into the lab like facility as though nothing had happened.

"OHMIGOD! I can't believe it! Julian _can't _be dead!" Cessily sobbed.

"He isn't. Help me." Laura hefted his body onto the stretcher. "Pixie, get Elixir."

"I can only teleport once an hour!" The girl burst into tears.

"That will not be soon enough," Laura said thoughtfully. She walked over to the cabinet and tore it open, despite its padlock. Inside  
were tubes, needles. "Here. I will require help." Cessily stepped forward. "You will help me transfuse Julian with two point seven liters  
of my blood. My healing factor will keep him alive until you can bring Elixir back."

They wheeled Julian into the next room.

"Won't that kill you too?"

"No." Laura hefted herself onto the table beside the stretcher, and began her work. She inserted a needle into her vein, then attached a  
tube and the other needle-tipped end she inserted into Julian's arm. "I will need your assistance to hold my arm upright. I may fall  
unconscious. You must not allow me to fall flat; the elevation is crucial to this process. Julian must not die."

"Julian must not die," Cessily repeated, sounding hollow. "Oh, Laura, I'm sorry. So, so sorry. It'll be okay, it has to be."

"Do not be, Cessily," Laura said, paling slightly as the blood began to leak from her arm. "It was not your fault."

"I—I don't know what I'd do if it was—"

"Santo?" Laura asked quietly.

"H-how did you know? No one knows, _he_ barely knows—I just told him last night—he's such a dumb jerk and yet—"

"Your scent changes when he is near," Laura mumbled.

The tube was solid red now. Julian opened his eyes blearily. "Laura?" he asked weakly. "Be quiet. Do not move. Your spinal cord, three vertebrae,  
thousands of blood vessels and nerve endings have been crushed, countless other organs including your spleen have been shredded,  
and both of your lungs punctured.They may collapse at a moment's notice."

"I love you…"

"I love you, too," she said quietly. "That has been 2.8 liters. Withdraw the tube, it is enough, and I will need the rest." She did not flinch as the needle  
was slipped from her flesh; she bent over and kissed Julian firmly on his mouth. "Julian's blood is full of micro-sentinels from Deathstrike's claws.  
They are like venom, and will only cease activity when the homing robot—Deathstrike—is terminated." She paused, watching Julian cough up blood.  
"I will be back." She turned and left, leaving Cessily to watch her charge restlessly.


	13. 5: Messiah Complex 2:2 seperated

**A/N: **And here is the second part of Arc 5: Messiah Complex! I'm touched by the reviews; Chapter 12 "Just like you imagined" is one of my favorite chapters too. Lots of good ones coming up though! After this chapter (13), the story leaves most of the comic-based plottage behind and becomes almost entirely original, although at times it may contain reference to actual comic occurrences. Enjoy! 8)

* * *

**Chapter 13: separated**

* * *

"YURIKO!" Wolverine roared, leading the attack on the Japanese woman.

Laura did not hear sounds clearly; they were oddly distorted. For once she did not resist the call of the rage;  
she merely bobbed and weaved, in and out of the group of X-men attacking; pausing to force one aside from  
rifle fire with a simple instruction—"Move."

"Logan-san…DIE!"

Deathstrike raked her deadly claw fingers across Logan's face in a shower of blood. It splattered the snow  
around them, like red paint on a blank white canvas. Like one of the Professor's abstract paintings in the  
mansion, before all this. "You were _stupid _to interfere in this. You had longer to live until I reached you.  
Now you die _here_, with the child."

Yuriko licked her lips.

"I don't have time for this, Yuriko. You're still pissed at me? Fine." Logan stepped aside. "But I know someone who's  
pissed at _you_. Knock yourself out, X."

Laura rushed at Lady Deathstrike, so fast the snow did not have time to land on her. "You call yourself Deathstrike,"  
she said, popping her claws. "Show me."

The older woman grinned, swiping at Laura. She ducked the attack easily and plowed her fist into Yuriko's face,  
extracting more dark red. "Hup." she said between gritted teeth.

"Wolverine insults me…a CHILD?" Deathstrike undercut Laura, sending her flying backwards in a shower of blood.  
"He seeks to shame me. But you?" Another punch. Laura licked her lips. Like Kimura. Less. "You think yourself my _equal_?  
I am Lady Deathstrike, daughter of lord dark wind! You are _nothing!"_

Punch, punch. Stab. "And your arrogance will cost you your _life_. Do you HEAR me?" The woman bent over Laura as she lay  
in the snow, her ribs and half of her internal organs spilling into the snow around her.

"You are not even fighting," Deathstrike commented. Kimura, all over again. "No…I'm _listening_," Laura said, ramming her booted  
foot into Deathstrike's arm and popping the concealed claw. "AHH!" The woman cried, jumping back. A small current of electricity  
surrounded her arm, but she clutched it, smiling. "Pathetic. Your strike barely drew blood."

"I was not aiming for your blood," Laura said, sitting up. Internal organs, regenerated in approximately four point three seconds.

"I…my arm…why can I not move my—you—you cut through my cybernetics," Deathstrike said, sounding afraid.

Laura was on her feet, in the air, all claws out. "_Now_ you will see me fight," she said. Slash. Stab. Blood whipping through the air like  
thick, sticky ropes. Turning the snow red. She landed in a crouch.

"You are losing blood faster than you can heal. I cut your cybernetics faster than they can repair. You are dead, and do not even know it."  
Deathstrike was hobbling towards her. She made an awful, monstrous noise—and tried for one more swipe. Laura was quicker, like  
greased lightning, over her head, behind her, one hand rammed so far and so fast through her abdomen that it came out the other  
side and met air. The hate she had felt the day she killed Rice was nothing compared to what she felt now, for this woman.

Standing over the body, scenes clearing.

"You were dead the second you touched Julian Keller." Blood dripping off her claws. She'd been unaware she could so completely  
lose control without the trigger scent. She sniffed deeply, inhaling. Logan was approaching, he was saying something. It was all over. Yes.

**…**

"Two punctured lungs, a nicked aorta. A shredded diaphragm, a severed rib, and now, minus a spleen, but Hellion is still alive.  
For how long, I don't know." Dr. McCoy was addressing her, his gloved hands and clothes matted in blood. "What happens now?"  
Cessily asked, hugging her knees. There was blood, so much blood. It was like Julian was a ripe tomato that had exploded  
in a microwave oven. He kept bleeding—the wounds wouldn't close, with Deathstrike's nanosentinels holding them open.

"We take a breath. Then I check on Night-Crawler, who's in about as good a condition." Dr. McCoy pushed his glasses up his nose.  
"And we all pray Elixir wakes up." Josh had survived an attack on the mansion but had sustained terrible injuries; the Sentinels had  
struck while the X-men were away. Or someone. Cessily didn't know who was what now.

"This is all my fault," Nori said in the room above, watching them work. "I was so _angry. _I wanted to hurt the purifiers…we weren't  
ready. They almost died because of me. Julian…" she looked down.

"…is alive," Emma Frost said behind her.

"And had you stayed here, Surge….he might _not_ be. _None_ of you might be. You all might have been killed by the sentinels. Just like so  
many of my students were." Emma looked touched the glass of the observation window. "But you _survived._ Julian was my favorite,  
you know. I pushed him away, like I pushed all of you away. And you survived."

She swallowed.

"What's happening now, no one saw coming. You were blindsided. Get over it. We all were. The trick is to survive it the first time,  
and not let it happen a second."

"Why did you do this to me? Why did you pick _me_ to lead the team?" Nori looked sad, unsure; yet also, serene.

"Because I knew you'd protect them, no matter what. Even from_ me._" Emma left the room, her words trailing behind  
her like a breeze. "Do that now."

**…**

Julian's eyes flew open suddenly.

"ACHH-uhh!" He sneezed, contracting so hard he was forced into a sitting position. A shower of blood and tubes flew out of his  
nose, and for a moment he gagged on the equipment in his throat. He ripped it out, his fingers scrabbling for hold. The blood that  
Laura had donated to him was suddenly activating, no longer suppressed by the nanosentinels. It was incredibly potent, off-the-records.  
Sutures popped off his face, his ribcage; he pressed a hand to his stomach, amazed. He'd never felt so energetic. It felt like a million  
itching spiders, all telling him to bound out of the bed and run for it...like his blood had a brain of its own.

"Julian," Emma Frost said, sweeping into the room just as he actually did scramble out of the bed, the air around him  
glowing green. He was going to go find Laura, he was going to take her away…no more…

_SLEEP._

**…**

"AHHHHHHHH!" Julian woke up again, clutching his chest. Had it all been a nightmare? Where was Laura?

"Julian, compose yourself." Emma entered the room, alone. "Screaming is so unbecoming." She paused. "We have some  
things to go over. You missed quite a bit while you were napping." Sitting at the end of his bed, she told him, in a cool,  
collected manner, that the X-men had been disbanded, and that the mansion was now closed indefinitely.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Julian roared.

"I think you heard me quite well. Your ears were not damaged during the assault on your personage," Frost said, unaffected.  
She got to her feet and began to exit the room. Julian was petrified. He scrambled out of bed and followed her to the door,  
his bare feet making slapping noises on the shiny tiles.

"So that's it, then? The school's gone? You just send everyone home? No more X-men?" He stared at Emma. "Where's Cessily?  
And Sooraya? They wouldn't just leave me..."

"Julian…"

"Where's Laura?" he asked, his eyebrow flicking up in challenge. Emma pursed her lips. "Enough. Everyone is being taken care of,  
just as you are here." He knew she would never, ever tell him where Laura was. His heart froze.

"NO! You're doing it again! You're taking away everything I had! WHERE ARE THEY?!" He glowed green, about to hand Frost her  
implanted buttocks for once and for all on a silver platter.

"Sleep, Mister Keller," Emma said coolly, touching his forehead.

**…**

"Julian Keller died at three-oh-five on the morning of the twenty-first," Emma said in a soft voice, her fingers arched on the oak desk.  
She'd brought Laura to one of her private offices. They were in Seattle.

Oak-paneled walls. Palm tree in the corner; sunlight filtering through blinds. Small aquarium of fishes in corner, containing four different  
species. Looped white carpet, bleached of color like Frost's hair.

Laura tilted her head. She did not look surprised. Emma was unnerved. It just went to show how inhuman Laura was—she told her that  
her lover was dead and she didn't even bat an eyelash—no, she was doing Julian a favor.

She didn't notice Laura's nostrils flaring. Really, how could she be bothered to pay attention to breathing?

She momentarily forgot that Laura's olfactory sensory organs were almost sharper than Logan's. She forgot that Laura had undergone  
years of torturous training in this very field; she forgot—or had never known—that areas of Laura's mind were immune to psychic intrusion.

Simply put, she forgot that Laura could smell lies.


	14. 6: New Beginnings 1:4 reunited

**A/N: **Little question I have...I searched Laura/Julian and X-23/Hellion (in hopes of finding more stories about them); this I found...but my story did not show up. Curious, I begun searching specifically for my story, using different keywords (including the title)...with no results. I couldn't find it on the X-men page either. Any ideas?? 8S

* * *

** Chapter 14: reunited**

* * *

"Damn," Julian said, sitting at the café table that Magneto had walked away from. And continuing to sit there because he could  
not afford to pay the bill. Yes, the X-men had destroyed his life; they had given him a much better one—and then taken that away,  
too, just to make sure he was _really_ miserable.

"Sir? Would you like your bill now?"

"Er—" Julian didn't look up. "Ma'am, this is really awkward, but I don't have money for this bill. I'm in some real hard luck—can I have  
a tab here? I _swear_ I'll come back to pay for it." He looked up and his heart stopped.

"You—"

"Hi," Laura said, smiling. "I will pay your bill."

"What—"

"Do not ask questions. I came as soon as I could. I have been watched, closely. Something is not right in the organization."  
Laura put her hand on his shoulder, then leaned in and kissed him quickly. "Go to this address. It is safe. I will be there tonight,  
at twenty-one hundred hours and eleven minutes." She turned and left, Julian still unable to put a coherent thought together.

"Damn," he said again.

**…**

"Laura? Are you here?" Julian called after glancing at his watch for the millionth time. It was finally, finally 9:11, an oddly symbolic  
number. The day had crawled by so slowly; he'd spent it walking by the wharfs, his hands in his pockets. He'd taken them out once,  
only to find they were shaking. It was like he was having some kind of withdrawal or something. He wondered if any of the other  
X-men would be with Laura.

"Hi," said Laura's voice. He looked up, and saw her on the beam above him, watching. She was dressed in an entirely different uniform  
than the one he was accustomed to; gray and black, with a face mask that had red, glowing eyes.

"Laura?"

"Yes." She swung down from the beam and landed in front of him, raising her mask. He grabbed her by the sides of her face and kissed her,  
hard and desperately, his hands sliding down her neck and body to wrap around her. Laura reciprocated; and he moaned against her.  
It had been too long…far too long…he felt like he was drowning and Laura was an oasis of pure air…

"God," he said when they broke apart. "What the hell happened? I've never felt so confused…or lost. I just tried to sell myself over to Magneto,  
in case you didn't hear my pathetic attempt to be evil."

"I heard," Laura said. She was so fricken vague yet so precise, her voice so melodic, her eyes so green. He'd missed it all like crazy.  
He held her tighter. How long had it been? Two, three months? Four?

"Are you upset?"

"No," Laura said. "I do not care. It has been difficult, this…time. Nothing is what it seems to be." She touched his shoulder, as if she couldn't  
believe he was real, either. "What's up with the uniform?" Julian asked, restraining himself. He was really far more interested in finding out  
how to get it off her, since it did not seem to have an accessible zipper. He was hoping Laura would volunteer the information, as she sometimes did.

"I am part of a new unit now." She looked down. "It is a microzipper, located under my left arm joint."

Julian's fingers caught the catch, and he jerked it down as fast as it would move. "You're killing?" he asked, really not concerned at the  
moment. That would come later. Laura nodded at him, her fingers hooking under her mask and pushing it off of her head entirely.  
It floated to the ground, and was soon joined by other articles of their uniforms.

**…**

"I think Frost has snapped," Julian said later. "She just left me, all alone. My parents moved away too, sold the house and I can't find them.  
Think she had anything to do with that?"

Laura watched him over her shoulder, her gaze unwavering. She was lying on her side, her face in her hand, her elbow propped up on the  
tarp-covered cement. with Julian curled protectively around her like a spoon. They were in the corner of a warehouse. Julian hadn't even  
bothered to look around; he could not take his eyes off her, either. He felt like he had been starving, and suddenly he was  
presented with an abundance of food.

"Circumstances have changed. Frost is attempting to ensure that you are safe," Laura said seriously. "It is not safe to be a mutant,  
Julian. More so now than ever before."

"How come they didn't abandon _you_, too?" Julian asked, a little envious.

Laura looked down. "I…because they need me," she said, her voice growing low and sad. "As X-23. I do not need or deserve to be protected."

"That's bullshit!" Julian rubbed his thumb over her shoulder.

"I am also not afraid to kill."

Julian sat up, alert. "The X-men are _killing_ now?" he asked. His eyes were wide, serious; even he had instincts, and they were all  
screaming at him that this was wrong. "What about Wolverine? He knows what the facility did to you, how can he let them _make _you kill again?"

Laura frowned. "It was my choice. This sector…allowed me the most freedom. To find you." She looked at him again, her expression serious.  
"Frost informed me that you were dead. And Wolverine is no longer my protector."

"…" Julian gathered her into his arms and held her tight, confused. He didn't know what to say first; he wanted to cry like a little boy that had  
been left behind, but at the same time he wanted to comfort her and be grateful for what he did have, now. "It's okay," he told himself and  
Laura at the same time. "Logan's a fucking asshole. He smells like one, too. Want me to kill him for you?"

Laura allowed herself to smile slightly. It felt strange; she hadn't smiled for months before today. She'd even gone back to cutting herself.

"I am his clone, Julian," she replied, in her own manner of a joke.

"I think you're a lot different," he replied. "For one thing, you're a lot prettier. And you've got boobs. Nice boobs. Anyways…did I say you have boobs?"

"Yes," Laura said seriously.

**…**

"I want to go with you." Julian shifted, his hands in his pockets. For some reason, he was asking her, instead of just grabbing her and  
declaring the fact like he usually did. Perhaps because he knew he couldn't.

"No," Laura said. "I cannot guarantee your safety." She turned away, pulling down her mask. "I will return, next Tuesday, at the same time.  
Be here. We will speak regarding the future. Obtain new civilian clothing."

"What are you going to do meanwhile?" Julian felt useless.

"Missions. And I will search records, find information…and sabotage. If I am to discontinue my affiliation with the team, I must ensure that they  
will not be able to find me later." She looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes glowing red.

"What's that stuff over your eyes?" he asked.

"A special kind of optical lens. It detects body heat. I do not require its assistance, but it was provided and I did not refuse."

"Are they forcing you to help them, Laura?"

Laura paused. "No. Yes. I don't know. I will not know for certain until I stop assisting them. I can only tell you that things are not the same,  
and people have changed, in ways I am uncomfortable with."

Julian crinkled the note in his pocket. "This guy…he'll help me out?"

"Yes," Laura said. "Mention my codename, X-23. He will provide you with shelter and food, possibly a job. I will bring you more money next time.  
I do not want to take too much at once and risk alerting anyone monitoring my funds."

"I thought you kept it in cash," Julian said.

"Yes. Some of it. I still do not trust that no one is aware of it." She turned around and kissed him one last time, her hands holding his for a brief moment. "I must go."

"Take care of yourself," Julian mumbled, his voice choked. He thought he might cry, he was so afraid he wouldn't see her again. _Wish I had a mask. _


	15. 6: New Beginnings 2:4 near but far

**A/N:** Heehee, I'm really enjoying myself over here. I've got up to chapter 23 written. It's too much fun. I told my boyfriend Bryan (whom alot of Julian's antics are modeled off of) that "I'm turning into such a nerd. Yesterday I read a comic on the bus...I was so ashamed...and today I just sat and WROTE FANFICTION." O mie...tsk tsk...I may try setting up some sort of Julian/Laura site next weekend, homewerks permittin. And I have an interesting idea to actually draw out the story as a comic...it would be re-reading, but if there would be enough interest, I might slowly attempt it. Art gives a whole new perspective. Plus Julian and Laura just look plain cute, hehe. O yeah and if anyone knows the answer to my question on the A/N from Chapter 14? kkthxbye

* * *

**Chapter 15: near but far**

* * *

"X! The left!" Wolverine roared, his claws slish-slashing through the heads and necks of a dozen Purifiers pelting him with  
their rail guns. Laura wordlessly popped her claws and obeyed, her eyes glowing eerily in the darkness. The smell of blood  
was driving her a little crazy. When it was over, the X-force members stood in a circle, breathing heavily and sheathing their  
various weapons. Laura's claws retracted once more, and she looked down. She'd nearly been caught by three Purifiers while  
thinking of Julian and wondering if he'd found her contact yet; and Wolverine had had to bail her out. "What the _fuck_ was that, kid?!"  
he yelled suddenly, grabbing her roughly by the shoulder. Laura's breath caught in her throat. She did not enjoy when Logan was displeased with her.

"I am sorry."

"You could've gotten us all killed!"

"Logan…" Warpath said.

"Don't even start with me." Logan growled. "You saw what she did. She just _stood_ there while those guys went for her throat.  
Sorry doesn't cut it, X. You're a disappointment to this team." He stomped off, the rest of the team beginning to follow him back to the transport.

Laura looked at the ground, a tear rolling down her cheek behind her mask. No, things were not right at all. Logan was angry,  
so angry, with her. It had begun when she had joined the team; he had begun to treat her like a weapon, not understanding  
that she had joined to avenge her dead friends—and to find the living ones, most importantly Julian.

However, she said nothing. The first time he had pinned her to a tree by her throat and shouted in her face, she had later  
explained to the surrounding trees, over and over, that she did not understand, while feeding the snow her blood. It seemed  
to matter less now. _He smells_, she remembered, and a slight smile crossed her face for a moment, behind the mask.  
She'd worn it so much lately that she'd almost begun to forget what it was like to not wear one.

The visit to the warehouse had reminded her. She wanted more.

**…**

"Felt like a century," he mumbled into her hair. "Has it really been only a week?"

"Yes," Laura said, letting the knapsack drop to the ground. "I…missed you. I became distracted during a mission."

"Stop the press," Julian grinned. "You got it bad!"

Laura smiled ever-so-slightly. "Yes," she said.

He pulled away to look down at her again in a kind of disbelief. "Did you find my contact?" Laura asked in a serious, concerned tone.

"You tell me," he said mischievously. She tilted her head. "Yes. You smell clean. You've had a bath every night since I left you."

"I did _not_ smell that bad," Julian grumbled.

"Not to yourself," she commented, with a slight smile. "Hey!" he said sharply; the next few minutes were consumed with horseplay,  
mostly Julian chasing Laura around the warehouse, threatening to use her weakness against her—he'd discovered how  
sensitive she was to tickling.

**…**

"Next Wednesday," Laura said, looking across the street and then taking a sip of her ice water, ignoring the bill in front of her.  
She and Julian were seated at the same small café that he'd tried to sell himself to Magneto at, one short week ago. It seemed like forever.

He put down his own glass, alert. "You're leaving it?"

"Yes," Laura answered softly. "I am setting up an alias. And a false trail, should they attempt to find me. I am afraid Frost will seize my assets."

"Assets? I thought your money was all cash," Julian said.

"No. I have approximately two million in total. I…worked privately for a while before affiliating myself with the X-men."

Julian's expression was as grim as Laura's. He knew by 'work' she meant 'assassinations'. She didn't even have a high school diploma,  
although technically she was more highly trained than the US General Nick Fury in military tactics and other subjects.

"What will we do?" He was almost afraid to ask. He didn't have any certification either, having been in the last grades of high school when Xavier's  
went to hell. His school had been interrupted for two years up to the manifestation of his telekinesis; all his time had been consumed by unbearable  
migraines. The specialists he'd seen had diagnosed him with everything from eye strain to brain tumors; before his powers actually registered and  
he'd made his bedroom explode with a release of pent-up energy, he'd been unable to focus on text anymore. He still needed to use his powers  
daily, or he suffered terrible migraines. "I could…finish my school…we could both go to college…"

Laura looked at Julian directly. "We cannot allow ourselves to become relaxed. Constant vigilance. The man sponsoring the contact who is providing  
you with lodgings at the moment has offered us a job."

"Job?" Julian stared at her with a frown.

"Mr. Diederich is a mutant, with the power of empathy and an underdeveloped secondary mutation of reality warping. He is also a drug lord from Europe,  
who operates in the California area. He deals in Crystal Methane, LCD, and Cocaine; he specializes in Hypercortisone D, otherwise known as Kick for mutants."

"Laura!—" Julian exclaimed, almost standing up in alarm. He suddenly felt very unsafe; what had she gotten him into? But she wasn't finished.

"Mr. Diederich is also a philanthropist." Laura continued. "He has money to launder, and wishes to support the mutant cause. In a discussion, he once invited  
me to lead a group of 'mutant police'—somewhat like the X-men, to ensure the safety of other mutants. He also needs a task force for certain discreet  
assignments." Laura watched Julian calmly. "We are going to offer our services to Mr. Diederich, and I am going to nominate you to lead the team.  
I am skilled at tactics, but I am not experienced enough at teamwork nor human behavior to lead others."

Julian was as white as a sheet. "Laura—I don't know—drugs?"

"We will not be selling them." She calmly took a sip of her water. "We will primarily be continuing Xavier's work. We could not afford to do that without  
financial support." She touched his hand. "You could continue what you had started…before M-day. It will give you another chance to develop yourself."

"I…" Julian swallowed. He hadn't honestly thought about leading a team for a long, long time; barely a month after Nori received the leadership  
of the new X-men, the desire had faded away. He'd seen what she'd suffered, being responsible for the team's wellbeing in the middle of a war.

"I have to think about it, Laura. That's a tall order. I mean…" he paused, and realized that his mind was racing through possibilities of teammates.

He'd want Cessily, and Sooraya…and Santo…

"Then think about it." Laura set down her glass, still touching his hand. "You have until next Thursday. We will be meeting with Mr. Diederich then, at  
two o'clock at the Alaine Ducasse restaurant." She wrapped her fingers around his.

Julian was silent for a moment.

"You need an alias…would you take my name?" he asked in a small voice.

"Take your name?" Laura tilted her head.

"My last name," he said. "I asked you before…before we got separated. About getting married…I still want to, you know. Even more now."

It was Laura's turn to be silent. She pondered, deliberated; she was still terrified that the facility would find her. Hurt Julian because of her. Perhaps  
he understood the consequences now; he'd met their creations a little more thoroughly than the last time he'd asked her. Predator X, Lady Deathstrike  
(who was created by a different branch of the same organization). Kimura.

"You are aware of the risk?" Laura asked finally.

"Yes," he said, holding her gaze.

"Yes," Laura repeated; then he realized it was her answer. He almost knocked over the table in excitement. "Really?"  
he asked, unable to believe she had agreed.

"Yes," Laura said a third time, the corners of her mouth tilting up slightly.

"I don't have a ring," Julian said apologetically. He felt like an asshole, so unprepared. He hoped she didn't think less of him.

"Ring?"

Apparently not.

"I'll explain on the way. Come on, let's go look at some." He took her hand and pulled her out of her seat, the bill in his hand.

"I wonder if they'll give us a discount if I mention we're getting married," he thought aloud.


	16. 6: New Beginnings 3:4 the exmen

**A/N: **Huh, guess as long as it shows up for you guys...weird o.O. Yeah, I toss alot of references in here, gotta keep your eye on me!

* * *

** Chapter 16: the ex-men**

* * *

"Mr. Diederich, this is Julian Kellar, my fiancé," Laura said, using the new word Julian had coached her to use. A thin silver-colored  
band with a small diamond glittered on her left ring finger; it had taken her all week to get used to the foreign metal on her hand.  
Julian had 'borrowed' money from her to buy it, insisting (despite her protest) that he would pay her back as soon as he was able.  
They'd also spent a day shopping upper class New York for garments they could wear to fit in at the second most expensive  
restaurant in the area. Laura did not hate nor love shopping; but she understood the need for camouflage. Mr. Diederich was a  
curious man with expensive tastes and eccentric views; he could easily take offence to improper attire.

Under the table, Julian gripped her hand, his matching band pressing into her fingers. She could sense his nervousness, and wished  
that Julian would remain calm; Mr. Diederich could sense his emotional state better than she could.

"Oh, my," the older man said, leaning forwards and studying Julian obviously, who felt like squirming. He estimated Mr. Diederich to be,  
perhaps, in his mid-thirties; he had sharp features, horn-rimmed glasses, and thin blond hair. And Julian had the uncomfortable notion  
that he was gay; this he could deal with—but Mr. Diederich kept checking him out.

"I am glad you are not leeving in sin," the man said reproachfully in his thick German accent, looking at Laura over his glasses. "Haves  
you been to de confession every Sunday, like de good Christians you surely are? Ve are all sinners, to be seeting at dis table; but a  
good confession, followed by hard, honest, _manual_ labor, can help to repent you uv any sin."

Julian stared at him, speechless. Laura looked unaffected. "Mr. Diederich, as well meant as your intentions may be, we are here to discuss  
business. More specifically, the offer." He glanced sidelong at Laura, thinking that while she was awkward in some social situations,  
she had a knack for handling others.

"Ah," the man said, leaning back. "De offer. Yes. I suppose eet still stands; all dis bad business witch de X-men has created a need  
for a new mutant force."

"The X-men didn't—" Julian began, but Laura stepped calmly on his toes with the high heel of her shoe and pressed down, quite hard.

He snapped his teeth shut with an audible click and wondered if he'd really thought through what a married life with her would be like.

_Don't even get a verbal warning anymore,_ he grumbled mentally, flexing his toes.

"Vhat vould be needed for dees transaction?" Mr. Diederich asked.

"Headquarters, to begin with." Laura spoke confidently. "Fully supplied. A Cerebra-type unit with neural-enhancing electrodes and a  
full helmet. Transportation. Capacity for at least five persons. Uniforms with built-in protection and communication devices. Security  
systems. Some kind of coordination practice field or replica of the X-men's Danger Room."

Julian leaned back in his chair. He hadn't really thought in detail of what they would need; sure, the things Laura had just mentioned had  
occurred to him. But he didn't know specifications—or prices—which he knew _she_ did.

"You ask much," Mr. Diederich said thoughtfully. "For dese shings…I assume I vould have your full cooperation ven asked for?"

"Yes," Laura said. Julian gripped her hand tightly; this was the part he didn't like.

"Before ve agree to anything…we must talk religion. I refuse to deal witch anyvun that eez not a good Christian," Mr. Diederich said, entirely  
serious. "Which church do you attend? Vhen did you last attend communion?"

Julian blinked. "Uh…"

"Mr. Diederich, you know that I am abhorred by the Church as a genetic experiment," Laura said flatly.

"You are still God's child," the man said.

"We will attend confessions this Sunday," Laura answered. Julian's eyes widened in disbelief. He hated church—he'd been forced to go every Sunday  
as a child, to Catholic school—which had changed as soon as he had departed to Xavier's.

"Eet is never too late to be a good Christian," Mr. Diederich said, his fingers drumming the table. "Now…" He smiled at Julian, who closed his eyes.

**…**

"That man is unbelievable," Julian fumed, stretched out on the bed. "He asked me about everything from my religion to my sex life! I don't think he  
needed to know that for the purpose of this fucked-up little transaction!"

"Mr. Diederich is…eccentric," Laura said stiffly, removing an earring.

"Eccentric! That's an understatement." Julian unclenched his knuckles slowly. "Is he gay? He kept looking at me funny."

"Bisexual," Laura said calmly.

"How come German people are so weird?" he complained. "I've met like ten in my lifetime, and they just make my skin crawl. All these weird ideals.  
And the whole Nazi thing…you can just _tell_ that they're still thinking about it!"

"Mr. Diederich is not German," Laura answered patiently.

"But…the accent!" Julian sat up.

"He affects it. He enjoys German culture. Mr. Diederich is actually from England, and his true name is James Lawrence Norris."

"Christ," Julian said under his breath. "I don't know…Laura…he's so weird…and the missions…is he going to ask us to kill people?"

"No. You will not have to kill anyone, Julian. If there is an assassination, I will personally handle it." She took out the other earring and placed it in  
the cup of cleansing solution. "Have you come to a decision?"

"I…" he sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "Yeah, okay, I guess. He creeps me out…but I'm sick of doing nothing, Laura." He watched her  
back as she let down her hair. It was curly from the elaborate up-do it had been conformed to all day, and his breath caught.

**…**

"This is the place," Laura said, folding the sheet of paper with the address as Julian turned into the driveway. He'd only just recently got  
over the fact that Mr. Diederich had fed-exed them an envelope containing keys—to a Porsche Cayenne SUV, which he knew sold for over  
a hundred thousand dollars—as well as keys to an address in an expensive, secluded area of California.

Along with a little note for Julian that made him even more uncomfortable, but the gleaming vehicle had somewhat eased the awkwardness of the situation.

"Oh, wow," he said as they reached the top of the small hill and saw the structure on the other side. It was a small, very-elaborately  
designed stone mansion, about a quarter of the size of Xavier's school; but still, more than enough for five people. It was surrounded  
by trees; everything in the area was a healthy green.

Laura smiled slightly. They parked and got out of the SUV; Julian stretched obnoxiously, having been cooped up for about five days driving.  
Laura had done a few night time shifts while he'd slept, but for the most part he'd been too on edge to get any sleep. They hadn't stopped  
at hotels, not wanting to leave a trail to be followed in any way.

"You have the keys?"

"No, I left them in New York," Julian said sarcastically.

Laura's eyes widened. There was a two hundred thousand dollar security system in effect that would initiate if they attempted to  
access the property without keys.

"Julian—"

"Relax." He grinned and held up the keys. "You're so gullible. I didn't even have to act. Come on, let's go in."

Laura stomped along behind him, annoyed that he had frightened her pointlessly, but it soon evaporated as they entered the building.  
Her nostrils adjusted to the scent of oak floors, fresh paint and newly molded plaster. Julian reached across her chest and turned on  
the light. "Oh, wow," he said again.

An elaborate main staircase greeted them, at the end of the hallway. It had oak banisters, buffed to a glossy finish, as well as carpeted stairs.  
The walls were a pleasant almond color, and there were enormous skylights, illuminating expensive-looking oil paintings on the walls.

"I wish to examine the technology," Laura said, unimpressed.

**…**

"I AM NOT WEARING THIS!" Julian roared, slamming the closet door shut and brandishing the hanger at Laura, his eyes flashing defiantly.

Her eyes focused on the small piece of spandex-type fabric threaded around the hanger, and a small noise of amusement escaped her.

"It's Mr. Diederich's wish," Laura said after the sound had finished.

"I wish for a lot of things too. They don't come true." He tossed the hanger towards the garbage can, with a grimace of utter contempt.  
"I'd wear it—maybe—if I was in a low-budget porn flick, but there's no way in hell I'm going to _fight_ wearing that. Why couldn't I have a  
uniform like yours? It covers just about everything! Want to switch?"

"No, thank you," Laura said. She had changed into her suit, which seemed to be mostly like her old uniforms, except for red diamonds down the side.

"I'm wearing mine," he said, moving to the duffle bag on the bed and unzipping it. The shade of red was off, but he didn't care; the protection  
was the only important thing, and his had thin sheets of Kevlar in some of the more important areas. Unlike Mr. Diederich, which only seemed  
to consider one area to be important, Julian also valued his heart and other vital organs.

"It has an X-men emblem," Laura pointed out.

"I'll fix that," Julian grinned, fishing a sharpie out of his pocket. He leaned over, uncapped it, and holding the uniform up, carefully drew a "E"  
in front of the diamond-shaped X on the left side of the chest.

"There. We're the Ex-men now. I don't care what our 'sponsor' wants, that's what we are." He capped the sharpie, then, throwing it to the  
side, began to pull off his shirt. "I'll change and then we'll get going. It's a regular Blackbird jet, right?"

"No," Laura said calmly. "I am trained to fly most aircraft, though. It will be fine."

**…**

Cessily rubbed her eyes blearily, an automatic reaction. She didn't get dream crumbs anymore; having a body of solid mercury also meant that  
she did not have bodily fluids, but she'd grown used to the human reaction. "Ungodly hour," she said to no one, shuffling towards the door.  
It was actually ten AM, but Cessily hadn't checked the clock. It was her day off.

She was very tired, since she'd been abandoned, and everyone she cared about had been taken away from her. She'd had to get a job as a  
waitress, unable to locate her father; Frost had at least left her an 'image inducer' which disguised her appearance. She couldn't let anyone  
touch her, though—they'd be awfully surprised to feel metal where they saw flesh.

Cessily peered through the peep hole.

"OHMIGOD!" she exclaimed, tearing open the door as fast as she could undo the locks. "Ohmigod, you guys! I can't believe it!" She threw her  
arms around Julian's neck, almost crying with relief. "I thought you were dead!"

"Hello, Cessily," Laura said. Julian patted the girl's back affectionately. He'd missed her—her and Sooraya.

"Come in, I'll make you something, anything, though I'm really not a good cook and I don't have a lot of food but—" Cessily jumped up and down  
again. "I missed you guys so much! Ohmigod, I can't believe you're alive, Julian! Was that huge crashing noise a few minutes ago _you?_ It woke me up."

"Yes," Laura said.

"It's a new jet," Julian said, embarrassed. The crash had been him moving a row of dumpsters out of the way as he desperately lowered the  
aircraft with his mind. Laura hadn't lied about being able to fly, but at a crucial moment she'd confessed that she did not know how to land  
that particular model. _Women,_ he'd thought venomously as he gripped the panel, overextending his brain. It helped to think angry thoughts  
when drawing on huge resources of energy.

"You have a jet?" Cessily stared at Julian in amazement. "Ohmigod, you guys have uniforms. Ex?" She was reading his chest. "Are you with Xavier still?"

"No," Laura said. "We are in the employ of a Mr. Diederich now. Our functions remain somewhat the same as that of the X-men; however, we  
are independent, and on occasion we are to perform services for him. We have come to recruit you."

The only sound was the clock ticking.

"Oh—guys—I dunno—I mean, the whole thing with the X-men—I don't think I can _do_ that again," Cessily said after a minute. "I buried too many friends already."

"Everyone dies sometime," Laura said, something someone had told her before, at night, on a rooftop, with a blindfold over her eyes.

"Come on, Cess," Julian said, touching her shoulder. "We need you. It's not gonna be like the X-men—we're calling the shots now.  
You have to see the place we got, it's awesome! And the jet—and the _car_—"

Cessily smiled. Something caught her eye, and she stared at Laura's hand.

"OHMIGOD!" She squealed, grabbing it and lifting it up, her hand fixed on the thin band around the ring finger. "LAURA! Oh wow, is it Julian?"

"I'm standing right here," he said, annoyed. "Yes. Who else? Why would I be here with her if it wasn't me?" He snapped his fingers in her  
face, but her eyes fixated on _his_ ring and she grabbed the digit bearing it for examination.

"Oh, wow! Can I come to your wedding? When is it? Can I be your maid of honor, Laura? Can I please?"

"I—" Laura started, but Cessily didn't wait for an answer, sweeping them into a group hug. "Ohmigod! Okay, I'll totally come with you  
guys, my life is a dump anyways. Are you going to ask Santo and Sooraya?"

"Yeah, any idea where they are?" Julian asked.

Laura tilted her head. She'd detected a slight wavering in Cessily's voice when she'd spoken Santo's name, and she remembered that  
dark night when Julian had almost died. The confession. Perhaps it would be different for Cessily now.

"Last I heard, they were working with Cyclops on something in New York," Cessily answered. "That was a while ago, though. We could try  
giving Santo a call, I have his cell number. Then you guys gotta help me pack!"

**…**

_Julian._

Julian awoke with a start. He was on a pile of blankets, on the floor, with Laura pressed against his back, miles of naked skin. Her skin was  
damp still; they'd taken a shower together in Cessily's apartment, partially to clean up and partially to stifle the sounds.

He was damp too, but now for a different reason. It was sweat. A bad dream—that's what had woken him. Or a voice. Or both.  
He laid back. He'd been dying again—slipping into that weird dream, floating when Laura caught his body and the pain had burned  
white-hot in his torso. The white room. The white-hot room, it really did exist. He'd stood before people, oddly familiar. A woman,  
her figure shimmering with heat.

_Live, Julian, it is your inheritance _she'd said. In his mind. And then he'd seen a dream within a dream, a long story too long to recollect.

And he'd woken at the same exact moment as he really woke up.

" Julian?" Laura's voice, sleepy. She was looking up at him, her eyes so big in the dark. He kissed her tenderly.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered.


	17. 6: New Beginnings 4:4 trial and error

**A/N: **Hee hee hee...

* * *

** Chapter 17: trial and error**

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"Santo…" Cessily groaned, rubbing her face with her hand. "I can't believe this. I don't have a brain or flesh—and  
you've managed to give me a headache. What is wrong with you? Can't you just shut up?"

"Keep it down, kids," Julian called. "Don't make Laura come back there." He shot a grin at the girl seated beside him,  
who gave him a slight answering smile. Julian was pleased; months ago, she would not have dared show emotion around the others.

"Where are we going next?" Santo asked, ignoring Cessily. "I feel like we're shopping for mutants. How much did you pay for me?"

"Nothing, your owners couldn't wait to get rid of you. In fact, they paid us to take you away," Julian replied, flipping switches on the top panel.

"Fuck off," Santo grumbled.

"We are looking for Sooraya," Laura offered, looking out the window. "And Josh."

"And the Stepford Cuckoos," Julian added thoughtfully. He'd decided that trying to convince the three-in-one to affiliate with them would  
be quite beneficial; not only could they run the communications engine, but they were well educated in tactics, and skilled in offensive telepathy.

"Blindfold," Laura said quietly. He glanced at her again; for some reason, she had insisted to him that they find the precog.

"The blind, crazy re-cog?" Santo asked in his usual blunt way. "Sure, what team could function without one? Please tell me she's on backorder,  
I'll rest easier. It's hard to sleep with a knife beneath your pillow, believe me."

"She'd be more use than _you_," Cessily said under her breath.

"I heard that!" he sulked.

Julian frowned. As much as Laura had wished to find Blindfold, she had disagreed about Sofia. Over and over he had reiterated on the  
usefulness of the wind controller; over and over, Laura had disagreed. She pointed out in few words that Sofia caused discord. She was  
too passionate, too emotional; she became distracted too easily. Finally he'd let it go, knowing Laura would not budge, as adamant as  
the metal that rested between the bones of her forearms.

"Oh, look at that," Cessily said, pointing ahead. The setting sun had burst through the clouds, turning the sky a brilliant orange.

"Kinda nice," Santo said. She smacked him, causing a chunk of rock to tumble off. "OUCH!" he bellowed. "Bitch."

"Crybaby," Cessily said, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, you love it," she added in a murmur, forgetting Laura could hear.

He wiggled his eyebrows back at her.

**…**

"Welcome to McDonald's…can I take your order, sir?" Sooraya asked tiredly, her eyes half-shut behind the slit of her niqāb. The faces  
in front of her didn't even register anymore; she'd spent her break fighting her manager as he brandished a pair of scissors and  
demanded that she remove most of her veil. He'd argued that it conflicted with their 'service with a smile' policy.

"I am smiling," Sooraya had protested. "I have smiling eyes." In reality, she was quite glad of the veil, which _did_ allow her to cheat and  
not smile when she was too tired. Which was always. Sooraya longed for her mother and her home country desperately, but could not  
afford to return; and after the trials she had endured with the X-men, she did not have the energy to blow herself across the ocean—  
or even find a ship bound for her home.

"Yeah. Gimme a million cheeseburgers. With no cheese."

"Santo?" she asked, shocked. She hadn't seen her teammate since the terrible events with the other young X-men, when they had been  
deceived by Donald Pierce in disguise as Cyclops.

"Sooraya!" Julian said, rushing to the counter. "Out of the way, you big boulder," he said, elbowing Santo in the ribs. He was taking up half  
of the small order counter.

Sooraya blinked. She, like Laura, had thought him dead; she had been swept away by the young X-men mission before she could verify his  
condition, and she'd mourned with Cessily before they had parted.

"Julian?" she asked weakly. "I thought you were dead…"

"Why does everyone seem to think that?" he asked.

"Frost said you were dead," Cessily answered. Julian's eyes flashed, he made a fist. "That bitch—" he started. Laura looked alarmed  
and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Julian—"

"Why didn't you tell me?!" he demanded, staring at her. Laura's fingers tightened on his shoulder. "Later."

"No, now! I want to know what you're not telling m—"

"MUTIES!"

"Oh, for the love of god, spare me," Julian said, rolling his eyes. He turned his head; three rough-looking rednecks were approaching, the one  
with a ponytail, moustache and several missing teeth pulling a gun out of the back of his jeans. He pointed it at Santo; _bang bang bang _as bullets  
whizzed through his craggy figure. People began screaming and seeking escape; it was hard to tell which boy was most annoyed—Julian or Santo.

"Turd," Santo growled, picking up the chunk of rock that flew out. He tossed it up and down in his gigantic hand like a baseball, took aim at the man's  
head—then blew up in a complete turn of events.

"AHHHGH! GIT IT OFF ME!" the man hollered, digging rocks out of his eyes.

"People like _you_ make me glad I'm not normal," Julian sneered, glowing green. He lifted the largest of the hicks and slammed him against the trash  
can, which politely said "Thank you!" and began its compacting process.

The third man hefted something that hadn't been noticed earlier in the fight; a shotgun. He took aim and fired.

_Blam_.

Laura staggered backwards, a large hole suddenly present in her forehead.

"NO!" Julian gasped, unconsciously releasing a shockwave. The entire restaurant around him was leveled, leaving the workers (unaware of the fight)  
in the back still holding patties between metal tongs. One unfortunate man—the manager—was sitting on the toilet, his newspaper suddenly disintegrated.

Julian didn't care about what he'd accidentally done. He narrowed his eyes, and all three hicks suddenly grunted, a series of snapping sounds emanating from their necks.

"NO, Julian!" Cessily gasped, rushing towards him. She'd stayed behind to watch the jet, but had come as soon as she could when she saw the enormous  
green mushroom-cloud in the direction of were the rest of the team had gone.

"Relax, they're not dead," Julian snarled, his eyes burning. "They should be, but they're not. I just broke all their vertebrae." He walked towards them and  
pointed his finger at their leader. One man had visibly wet himself.

"All I have to do is _move_ you," Julian hissed. "I could bend your spinal cord and you'll die. I can make your lungs explode from the inside for what  
you just did. You ever fucking touch a mutant again, I'll hunt you down and take you apart, molecule by molecule. Understand?"

The leader nodded mutely. He was in shock.

Julian snapped his fingers, and suddenly the men straightened up as their bones re-fused, then dropped to the floor. He turned to Laura and pointed;  
the bullet lodged inside her skull floated out slowly, carefully. "Can she _heal_ from that?" Sooraya asked, leaning over what was left of the counter.

Laura's eyes opened. "Yes." She sat up, a hand on her stomach.

"You ok?" Julian asked, crouching down and touching her arm with a tender look.

"I've just been shot in the head," Laura said flatly. "Please, give me a moment."

**…**

"What do you call three dead humans?" Julian quipped from the front seat.

"A good start," Santo grunted in reply, pulling his seatbelt closed over his lap. Sooraya was now seated in the row behind him and Cessily,  
as composed as ever. She had smiled to herself about seeing her manager unintentionally humiliated; as soon as Laura had recovered,  
she had walked to the standing door frame of the washroom where her manager still sat in a state of shock, and turned in her resignation.

"That's not the point of this team, Santo," Cessily said angrily. "Right, Julian? We're not going to hurt humans, right?"

"Oh come on, Cess, it was like a dead-baby joke," Santo grinned.

"No," Julian said through gritted teeth. "That isn't the point. This wasn't about that. They hurt my friends—they hurt my fiancée! Of course I'm not

going to sit back and do nothing. If they ever touch Laura again, I'll kill them for sure."

Laura continued to look down, her hair covering her face. She had been silent since her last words to Julian, almost three hours earlier.

"Whoa—_fiancée?_ Dude, I didn't know you were going out with her!" Santo exclaimed. "I mean—I knew you had the hots for her—but—"

"Yeah, big whoop, wanna fight about it?" Julian asked. "I kind of got my priorities straight when we were all about to die. And,  
you know, when I nearly did die."

He glanced at Laura, but decided not to comment on the whole Frost issue; he could only see the tip of her pale nose beyond her dark hair.  
He was still frightened and uneasy—what if she couldn't heal her brain right?

"Waita minute—I got shot, too!" Santo said. "You didn't shed a tear or nothin', Cessily. In fact, I think you didn't even flinch!"

"I wasn't _there_, Santo," Cessily said in a frustrated tone.

"Oh, yeah," he said thoughtfully. "Sorry."

**…**

"Laura?"

Julian had stretched out on the bed, still in uniform, and watched as the girl shuffled to the edge and sat down, her shoulders slumped.  
She looked terrible; her hair was ruffled and matted with blood, her clothes rumpled and stained like a person suffering from extreme  
depression, the set of her mouth sullen. He crawled up to her on his elbows and hugged her waist, his forehead pressed into her back.

"I love you," he mumbled into her hip, kissing it. She didn't answer.

"What's wrong?"

He froze inside; a tear had just rolled down her cheek to her chin. He reached up and caught it with his finger, then sat bolt upright and  
examined it carefully. "Laura," he said, worried. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you earlier—I'm so confused—none of this is _your_ fault—"

Suddenly Laura stood up straight and looked at Julian, her face tinged green. She bolted out of the room, and he followed her, even more  
scared; she slammed the washroom door of their private suite open. By the time he reached it she was crouched over the toilet, gagging  
like she was trying to expel her stomach, like a starfish digesting its food.

"Laura!" He dropped to his knees beside her, and hooked his fingers in her hair, then pulled it backwards. "Are you okay? Is this your healing, or something?"

"Y-yes," she stuttered between convulsions, her fingers flexing against the curved toilet seat. Finally she leaned back, wiping her chin.  
She looked pale and worn like he'd never seen her appear; haggard. He stroked her face, and she clung weakly to his arms, looking  
like she wanted to pass out.

"Julian…" she whispered. "I…I d-did not tell you about Frost…because she meant well…she wanted to k-keep you safe…I want to k-keep you s-safe…"

"It doesn't matter," Julian said, realizing it truly didn't. He gathered Laura into his arms and held her tightly against his chest, resting  
his cheek in her hair. He closed his eyes; a toilet full of puke, two blood-stained uniforms and a girl whose hair was dank and full of  
more blood—and he'd never felt more content. Except of course when they were clean and in bed.

**…**

"Julian—he's not—"

"Up and at it, Santo, we're going after the Cuckoos—EEUWRR!" Julian jumped back and swung the door shut behind him. Laura raised an eyebrow at him.

"—alone," she finished.

"Yeah, thanks, I already got an eyeful," he said, his face pale.

A few moments later, a flushed Cessily exited the room in her housecoat, and Santo leaned out the door, grinning. "Back for more?" he asked.

"I think I'll pass," Julian replied. "That was nasty!"

"Kama Sutra, dude," Santo said, shrugging. "Hey, I didn't write it, I'm just a believer." He looked over Julian's shoulder at Laura, who  
had been peering around her fiancé. "Yeah, I'm nekkid. Never seen one before, huh? I kinda figured." He laughed at Julian's flush.

"Of course I have seen naked men before," Laura said, as usual, out of the loop on innuendo. "I have seen precisely one hundred and  
thirteen men, one hundred and twelve of them clients."

"Laura—" Julian paled. "You're not supposed to tell people that."

"Haha, your girlfriend's a whore," Santo grinned.

"You'd know, wouldn't you, Santo? 'Coz you have to _pay_ to get laid," Julian shot back. Laura looked down, he grabbed her wrist before  
she could turn to run. "He was joking, he whispered, kissing her jaw.

"Woah, dude…PDA," Santo said.

"Look at the pot calling the kettle black," Julian replied. "I just saw you _banging_ Cessily. After that, I could just about moon you  
without it being awkward."

"Go for it," Santo grinned.

"I will be in the jet," Laura announced.


	18. 7: Decisions 1:2 progeny

**A/N: **Hehe. Here's the answer to Ms. Laura K. Howlett's question. Also, I stayed up wayyy too late the past two nights...pencilling the first chapter up. That's right. An outline has been made, and I've got 2 pages out of 17 almost done; so eventually someday you shall begin to see the scenes in this story. Yeeyyyy!

* * *

**Chapter 18: progeny**

* * *

"God, I'm getting frustrated," Julian groaned, hunching over the large map in the planning room (that doubled as the rec room).

"I get the feeling the Cuckoos don't _want_ to be found. But we need them…"

"What about Blindfold?" Laura asked. She was standing beside him, her arms folded in front of her chest.

"Why do you want Blindfold so bad, beautiful?" Julian asked. Laura looked uneasy; he touched her cheek and kissed her lightly.

"C'mon, it's just you and me…I won't tell anyone. Promise."

"…" Laura looked down. "It's an instinct, Julian. I cannot explain it. I know that Blindfold is important, somehow."

"You're our strategist, I guess," he said, his hands rubbing her hips as his interest turned to something else. "And what a hot one you are."  
Laura flushed; she'd begun to understand more, little by little, of Julian's little comments. She didn't anymore, for instance, believe that _  
hot_ meant he thought she had a fever.

It was his signal.

**…**

"Ruth Aldine," Laura said, opening the gate and approaching the blindfolded girl standing in the garden, a spade in her hand.

She tilted her head, inquisitively.

"Excuse me, no, I know what you are going to ask."

"And the answer is no?" Laura touched the girl's hand. Ruth flinched, as if burnt. "It devours from within," she whispered. "He is an open  
space waiting to be filled. God? Where are you? It is coming and I'm sorry, is he strong enough to not?"

"To not what?" Laura breathed in and out; to most people, Blindfold made no sense whatsoever; but X-23 was extremely intelligent; she  
looked at each word Ruth said as a separate sentence rather than her speech as a whole.

"Be corrupted," Ruth said sadly, looking down at the spade in her hand. "You are seeking the Stepford Cuckoos and excuse me they cannot  
be found. They are concealed from view beneath roots."

"You are a telepath," Laura said calmly. "You can run our machine and help us find the Cuckoos if you will not stay."

Ruth looked up.

"I am afraid. Into the fire, we will all burn!"

"It is only burning," Laura said quietly. "You once told me that we will all die some day. It is only a matter of when."

Ruth tilted her head. "Yes. I said that, to you. A night a while ago."

"Come with us," Laura said. "I will not let any harm come to you. You are safe with us. I give you my word."

"It is not others I am afraid of."

"Who are you afraid of?" Laura asked. Ruth looked up, towards the path; Julian was standing there now, leaning on the gate.

"Come on, Laura! We should go!" he called.

"Yes," Ruth said without explanation.

**…**

Julian felt uneasy with Ruth aboard the aircraft. He had the uncomfortable feeling that she was constantly aware of his thoughts—in  
ways that he was not. Beside him, Laura looked sullen again—green. When they arrived at the base again, Laura hurried to unbuckle  
her seatbelt and then ran for the privacy of their suite. Julian glanced significantly at Santo and hastened to follow.

"What the hell is going on, Laura?" he murmured, holding her hair after he had closed the door of their bathroom behind them. She was  
clutching the toilet bowl, heaving for dear life and drawing ragged breaths between. "This isn't your healing anymore."

"Yes it is," she mumbled, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Julian leaned over her, wet a towel in the sink and washed the mess off properly.

"Laura—are you—" he could barely bring himself to say it.

"No. No." She stood up, fighting to appear well. "I am fine. There is nothing wrong with me. Go back to the planning room. Find the Cuckoos."

"Laura…are you pregnant?"

She was silent. Then…"I do not wish to discuss this."

A chill ran down Julian's spine. "Oh my god. This can't be happening. Oh, god." Julian pushed down the toilet seat and sat, wanting to hurl himself.

"You do not know that for certain." Laura stood before him, looking down at his lowered face. She was uncomfortable, for something  
that wasn't entirely her fault.

"Are you late?"

"Late?" She gave him a puzzled frown. "Late…in your period," Julian mumbled. He didn't like talking about that time of the month, having  
had bad experiences with a combination of tampons and sex with his ex-girlfriends.

"Menstrual cycle?" she asked. He nodded. "I do not have a menstrual cycle. My creators thought it best that the process be eliminated  
altogether…they could not have a weapon that betrays itself by scent, or becomes emotional due to hormones. My healing factor  
compensates for the lack of menstruation."

"Creators…I thought you said that clones couldn't get pregnant." he said.

"Usually, they cannot." Laura frowned. "I was not informed if it was within my capacity. Both the fact that I am a clone, and the fact that  
I have a healing factor could possibly retard my ability to reproduce. The bonding of a fetus to my uterus wall could be viewed as an intrusion  
by my white blood cells, and—"

"Stop!" Julian held up his hand. "I don't want to get all technical. God, I'm scared. We're going for a test tomorrow, and that's final. We'll deal  
with it then. I'm not going to sleep tonight."

Laura tilted her head. He pulled her forwards, pushing up her tank top and kissing her tenderly, around her belly button. "We'll deal with it then,"  
he repeated, his tone softer. Laura placed a hand in his hair, an affectionate gesture. "I…I would not mind bearing your offspring, Julian," she offered.

Julian grinned weakly. "Gee, thanks," he said.

**…**

The girl gripped the boy's hand tightly as she sat, ram-rod straight in the pleather chair of the waiting room. The boy, in contrast, was slumped,  
his face pale. The girl's was an unhealthy shade of green, although both were attractive otherwise. "Keller, Laura," the receptionist called.  
The boy got quickly to his feet, the girl more slowly. He gripped her elbow and steered her towards the office, hoping she would not barf on  
the semi-expensive carpet. She'd done so in the expensive SUV—twice—on the way to the doctor's. He vaguely wondered if she was just  
developing a new power, like Angel Salvador at their old school. The power of acidic projectile vomit.

"Wait a moment," the receptionist called. "You can't go with her."

"I'm her husband," he said angrily. He was embroidering the truth a bit—they weren't married, yet. But the receptionist needn't know he was  
speaking in future terms. The receptionist nodded for him to continue.

They reached the door at the end of the hallway, and a familiar voice greeted the boy's ears. "Come in, come in, Laura. I knew a girl at the  
school I used to teach at; her name was Laura, too. She was…oh, my."

The boy and the girl stared at their former teacher, Dr. Henry McCoy. Hank stared back at his former students, wondering how on earth they had  
come to visit him for the purposes listed on the chart. There was an awkward moment of silence, then Hank cleared his throat.

"How nice to see you again, Mr. Keller," Hank said. "Are you still working with paper clips, or have your controls developed a bit more?"

"They're getting along," Julian said stiffly. He didn't feel like adding that he was behind the explosion at the Manhattan McDonald's restaurant,  
which had been put down as a full-fledged attack by the brotherhood of mutants.

"Ah." Hank adjusted his glasses. "As I understand it, you are here for a pregnancy test, Laura?"

"Yes," she said in a small voice.

"Usually a lab would perform this test, but seeing as this is a special center for mutants, and there are not many mutant doctors or lab technicians,  
I will be handling the drawing of the blood myself," Hank explained. He looked at Julian questioningly. "I am actually required to ask this, so it is not  
just idle curiosity…are you the father? If you are not, you must leave."

"I am, if there's something," Julian said defiantly. He hated admitting to Dr. McCoy that he'd slipped up so badly. This _was_ his fault, all of it. Laura was a  
little too good at what she did to him, granted, but it was lapses of concentration on his past Soccer scores and schematics of famous battles against  
Magneto that had brought them to Dr. McCoy's office. He hung his head.

"Sit up here, please, Miss…Keller," Dr. McCoy said, blinking at the form. "Am I reading this right? I thought your name was Kinney, Miss Laura."

"It was," Laura said, a bit more loudly.

Julian straightened. "We're getting married. Soon. And not because of this."

"Well, congratulations are in order," Dr. McCoy said. "You are young, but I suppose you have experienced just about what any true X-man has,  
albeit less in volume. If you are happy, then I am happy for you."

Laura perched on the table and held out her arm as Dr. McCoy pulled out the tubes and needle. "The good thing about my running the tests in-office  
means that you will get them before you leave."

"Good," Julian said, clearing his throat. "I'd hate to go home not knowing. I hate waiting for things."

"As I recall," Dr. McCoy murmured absently.

**…**

"Mrs. Keller, I have your results." Dr. McCoy said, appearing in the waiting room. Julian looked up; Laura had fallen asleep with her head on his chest,  
her legs splayed sideways over the chair. He touched her shoulder gently and she roused, blinking several times. "Come on," he mumbled, taking her  
hand and helping her up. He suddenly felt that she was more fragile that he normally thought her to be. At times like this, he believed all the stories  
about her vicious assassinations to be fairy tales.

They followed Dr. McCoy down the hall again, and sat down at the table nervously. Julian wanted to bite his nails, but he hadn't done that since he was  
five. He wanted to say 'out with it', but he knew that would just elicit a long, witty remark from Dr. McCoy that would make him feel like an idiot. And  
cause the doctor to take longer.

"Mrs. Keller, I do not know whether this will be welcome or unwelcome news, but you are indeed pregnant, by two months."

"Jesus Christ!" Julian exclaimed.


	19. 7: Decisions 2:2 seven days

**A/N: **So I slacked off work for a teensy bit and began the website: committed.to/helix (Thanks to Laura K. Howlett for the name idea!) It will (in about a month, maybe a bit more) feature an actual pencilled issue of Stages Chapter 1. Might take longer for inks/colors, not sure (depending on how my school load is; doing 4 courses currently). I'm going to work on it on the weekends 8) enjoy!

* * *

** Chapter 19: 7 days**

* * *

"Jesus Fucking Christ," Julian swore, rubbing his face with his hand.

"I hope that is not what you will name your child, if you decide to carry it to term," Dr. McCoy said dryly. In truth, Hank did not know  
what to say. He was concerned for Laura; and although he saw many negative qualities in Julian Keller, he still liked the boy, and  
did not like to see him in such a situation.

"If?" Laura asked.

Dr. McCoy leaned forwards. "Laura, this is a decision _you_ must make. This is why we usually do not allow the father in the room for  
the result. I do not want Julian, or anyone, to pressure you, one way or another. You have a choice—to keep the baby, to bear the  
baby and give it up for adoption, or to abort the pregnancy now, with an operation." He sighed. "Unfortunately, you are at two  
months along now. By law and ethics, I can only perform an abortion in the second month. I estimate you to be about 2 months  
and three weeks along, meaning you have less than a week to decide your course of action—at least, in the terms of the life  
or death of the fetus."

"I wouldn't pressure her," Julian broke in. "You think she's ready for a baby though? Do you think _I'm_ ready? Be honest."

"No, I don't think you're ready, Mr. Keller," Dr. McCoy said in a tired manner. "However, this remains Laura's choice. The decision  
is ultimately up to her." He smiled slightly. "At least, since M-day, there is little to no chance of the baby being a mutant. I highly  
doubt that another child like the war-child will ever exist. This opens to possibility of offering the child for adoption."

Laura was silent.

"We'll get back to you," Julian said, sensing discussion would follow.

**…**

"Laura?"

They'd reached the base in silence, and the girl had gone straight to their suite, her head down. Santo had followed Julian for a moment.

"Hey, dude! Are we goin' for the south location today? Anything to get Blindfold outta here…she's giving me the creeps!"

"Kinda got problems of my own right now," Julian said, pausing. "Look, I'll let you know later this afternoon, okay? I have to talk  
to Laura…she's upset…" he trailed off as a loud noise came from their shared quarters. "Yeah, I gotta go."

"Jeez, okay then," Santo said sympathetically. Julian ran to the door and tried the handle; of course it was locked. "Laura, let me in! We have to talk!"

Silence.

"Laura! Please talk to me, beautiful." He pounded on the door. "Let me in!"

"No!" Laura's reply was muffled through the thick oak door.

"Oh yeah, real mature! You're definitely old enough to have kids when you lock yourself in your room and throw temper tantrums!"  
he tried desperately. He was worried that Laura would cut herself again; she'd been acting so odd lately.

It worked. The door opened, and revealed Laura. She'd been crying, and her hair was a bird's nest. His eyes quickly roamed the room for  
blood, but all he could find was an overturned chair—the source of the crash.

"You are going to make me kill it," she keened, looking like she was about to collapse. He touched her chin, his heart hurting, although she looked adorable.

"Laura…I'm not going to _make_ you do anything. I wouldn't do that, even if I could. I can only tell you what I think should happen…but  
that doesn't mean you have to do it…do you understand?"

" Y-yes," she sobbed, leaning her cheek against the doorframe. "I just…Julian…I have killed too many children already…"

He frowned, not knowing what to say.

"We could have one later," he offered.

"There…t-there might not be a l-later," Laura sniffled. "Every day c-could be our last. I think that every n-night when I go to s-sleep."

" Laura, no! Shhh. Stop it." He gathered her into his arms and pressed his forehead and lips into her neck. "It's not like that. You can't  
live life thinking every day is your last day, then it's no life at all."

"I don't think that." Laura breathed. " I said 'our', not ' my'. I cannot die. Short of Nimrod—who has been destroyed—I cannot die. But _you_ can."

" Still shouldn't think that. I'm not going to die. I'm too powerful."

Laura let out another sob. She didn't know how, couldn't explain to him that that was exactly the problem: he thought he was too powerful to  
die. The power would be the death of him, someday. She had begun to understand Blindfold's words more accurately that day in the restaurant,  
when she'd been shot in the head. Lying on the floor, unable to move, and Julian shouting and playing with the humans and their spines like a  
cat with a mouse, the unearthly, hungry look on his face illuminated by the green light.

What had bothered her even more was their short conversation, a few nights after the incident, before falling asleep.

"I did not know you could mend bones," Laura had mumbled into Julian's chest.

" Neither did I," he'd answered, just as he began to fall asleep.

**…**

"I want it."

This at the coffee shop, with two steaming mugs of something chocolaty with whipped cream on top between them, and a plate with  
a giant cookie, mostly gone on Laura's side.

Julian sighed, his fingers rotating hers on the table. He'd forced her to clean up and get out of the base after he'd come back the  
day after the discussion from a search for the Cuckoos to find Laura still in bed, a miserable look on her face.

"Do you know anything about raising kids?" he asked.

" No one does when they have their first child," Laura answered. "My mother did not. She learned…she thought she was a bad  
mother…but I did not blame her, for what happened. I loved my mother." She looked down.

"What if the facility catches you again? And your child?"

Laura's eyes widened. "I would…I would not allow it to happen." Her fingers tightened on Julian's. "Neither would you…?"

" Of course not," he said. "It was hypothetical." Somewhere beyond the situation, he noted how much her attitude had changed.  
Her certainty of being recaptured had become strength and defiance and reassurance that it would never happen again.

" If Kimura…"

" Yes, Laura, I would kill her," he said, his voice low so people wouldn't hear him casually speaking of how he would willingly murder another being.

Laura looked pleased. "I…I think you mean that," she said. She smiled at him, and again he was distracted; each time was like the first.  
"I will keep it," she told him, and at the moment he didn't care at all. Nothing else mattered except that Laura was safe, and happy, and smiling at him.

" Okay," he said.

**…**

"Jesus Christ," Julian said, startled. There was already someone in the dark kitchen, making odd squelching noises. His finger found the  
light switch and suddenly the odd scene was revealed—Laura, covered in ice cream, shoveling it into her mouth with her bare fingers.

She froze, like a deer caught in the headlights.

" I…I was hungry," she explained.

Wordlessly he opened a drawer and sailed a spoon to her, a grim expression on his face. He knew pregnant women could act strange—he'd  
seen his mother with his younger brother when he was little, but Laura seemed to follow no bounds, no limits to her strangeness. She was  
almost a little animal-like, the last few days.

The week had passed with the baby still intact, and she'd begun all sorts of supplements, even though she didn't need them. Her healing factor  
probably acted as some sort of weird baby-incubator. Julian's heart had frozen when Dr. McCoy mentioned it might not take the full nine months  
for the baby to be born.

"I'm getting so pissed off about the Cuckoos," Julian mumbled.

" I think we should just begin focusing on our duties," Laura said, taking the spoon from the air. "Blindfold has telepathy sufficient to operate the  
Cerebrex unit." Cerebrex was what they had named their brain machine, by popular vote. Santo had wanted to call it the ' Mutie Matcher', but the  
others had agreed it wasn't scientific enough, and might scare new mutants in explanations on how they had located them.

" Maybe," he said, opening the fridge. "A whole bunch have probably died already 'coz we were slacking off."

Laura turned green suddenly, put down the ice cream and ran in the direction of their suite, her hand over her mouth.

"Women!" Julian grumbled.


	20. 8: Omens 1:2 stalking

**In response to review by zackslacker18:** sorry, that would be telling ;-)

**A/N:** Yay, I uploaded a pencilled cover of Issue 2 (out) onto the helix website at h t t p : / / committed.to/helix (remove the spaces, or alternatively click the homepage on my file). I have since inked it and will be coloring it soon. Stages is now being uploaded onto to website as well. I am playing with the idea of adding a midchapter or two that are rated NC-17 onto the website as a bonus; also, I may write a prequel to Stages in a bit that chronicals Laura's arrival at the mansion after M-day, the exact thoughts in both their heads. There is a very interesting turn coming up in Stages in the future though that I am sure no one expects! 8O enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 20: stalking **

* * *

" To hell with the Cuckoos," Julian said finally, thumping his fist on the table as Blindfold again shook her head.  
A little spark of green emanated from his fingers; Laura's eyes focused on the area. Julian seemed to be having  
power slips more, of late.

" We're going in," he continued. " We're having our first field day. Other than Blindfold, we have no one new…and  
she won't be in the front lines. I'm sure you're comfortable with a little light telepathy, Ruth?"

Blindfold nodded again. "Excuse me, yes, I have reconstructed your mind."

Julian stared at her, then continued.

"Mr. D sent us a memo yesterday containing info about areas we should focus on. Apparently, LA has its own little District X,  
called the Toxics. Don't ask me why everything has an X in it, even if it's not associated with Xavier."

Santo guffawed.

"Everyone got their suits?"

"Yeah," Cessily answered. "Who's Mr. D?"

"Our sponsor," Julian said. "He asked we don't tell you anything about him till he decides to visit. He's a bit…weird."

He rubbed the back of his neck unconsciously, a gesture he made when he was embarrassed.

Laura smiled slightly.

" Everyone remember their codenames?" Julian asked, half-jokingly.

"Me Rockslide," Santo said, scratching his behind. Cessily grimaced at him; he shrugged. "I had a wedgy. The uniform I got  
is a bit tight. You sure you sent Dr. D the right measurements?"

" It's Mr. D. And yeah, we did. He's…strange, like I said."

"You said weird. I was listening."

" Surprise, surprise," Cessily mumbled. "Mercury."

" Dust," Sooraya said.

" X-23." Laura looked down; she did not like the associations that came with her codename, but she had never responded to  
any other alias applied to her in the field. It was bred into her bones to respond to that one word. _X-23._

"Excuse me, yes. It would be a girl if we could name it."

" No, you're Blindfold," Santo said, shuddering.

"Alright. You all know who I am." Julian turned away.

" Yes, I am sorry. Hellion, you will burn but it will not hurt and I am sorry."

" Enough with the creepy monologue, okay?" Santo said. " I'm on edge enough already without _you_ upping the ante.  
If you gotta be here, Ruth, at least keep it down!"

" It cannot be kept down. It does not feel." Ruth lowered her head, frowning. Laura touched her shoulder comfortingly; of all  
the people present, she best understood the blindfolded girl. She was burdened with a power and with knowledge that other  
people would never truly understand.

"Right, then," Julian said. "To the jet! I've always wanted to say that."

" Nerd," Santo said.

**…**

"Cessily, please stop fooling around. No more Charlie's Angels poses."

" Aye, captain," she said, straightening with a sheepish look. They had just unloaded from the plane, onto a deserted rooftop.  
The gravel crunched beneath their shoes. Julian glanced at Laura before they reached the edge, trying to remind her of their  
conversation the previous night—no risks. If she was going to keep the baby, she wasn't supposed to come on missions;  
she had stated, over and over, that she would come. He'd acquiesced finally, warning her that she must not take risks.

" Teams of two. Rockslide and Blindfold, West, Mercury and Dust, East, me and X-23, North and South."

" No fair, _you_ got to be with your girlfriend," Santo protested loudly.

" Because it rhymed. Oh yeah, and it made strategic sense." Julian didn't mention that he wanted to keep his eyes  
on his stubborn, wild partner.

" Going down," he said, creating a green platform on the edge of the building. After everyone had scrambled onto it, he let it  
float down, himself following with Laura in his arms (because he liked holding her).

" Split up."

**…**

"Two mutants. Eighteen and Twenty-two. Males. There are traces of semen." Laura was crouched at a puddle of blood at  
the end of an alley. "The semen is human. The blood is from their—"

"Spare me," Julian said, wanting to puke. "Makes me sick."

" You are weak," Laura commented, standing up in one fluid motion. " I have seen a mutant that ate her own father while in a rage."

"Fuck, how do you eat breakfast in the mornings?" he asked, repressing a slight gag reflex.

" With a fork and knife. You have seen me."

" That's not what I meant," Julian sighed, touching down and putting his arm around her waist. "I love you." He kissed her lightly,  
but Laura pushed him away. "We are on a mission. It would not be prudent."

" It's only patrol," he pointed out, grinning.

" It's a mission now," Laura said, looking down at the bloodstain. "Are we not going to pursue those that harmed them?"

"Yeah," Julian sighed. "Sniff them down, beautiful."

Laura closed her eyes, inhaled—and a pattern formed before her senses. A disgusting scene—vomit, blood and other body fluids—the  
men straightening their clothes and leaving, walking down the street, laughing. She pointed wordlessly towards the street leading  
from the alley, and Julian followed as she began to walk away.

_Julian._

He started and looked back. There was nothing but shadows, and the dark patch of blood in the alley.

" I need more sleep," he complained.

**…**

" Scum! Yeah, I'm talking to you!" Julian shouted, hurtling a green comet at the man taking a leak in the street corner.  
He cried out and hit the wall, soaking himself. "You sick freak, I know what you did to those boys!"

" They had it coming, like you do." the man said. "Oh guys, you might wanna come over here. There's two trussed-up muties!"

Out of the shadows came the men's accomplices; there were about eleven, in total. The man grinned at Julian. "You sure are purty.  
Look at those eyelashes."

"You're DEAD!" Julian snarled, turning the man upside down and firing him up the brick wall at breakneck speed. "Anyone else want a  
piece of me? HUH? Oops, didn't mean to send him _that_ high." He glanced at Laura, whose neck was craned as she watched the sky;  
the man had disappeared from view, into the atmosphere. "He'll come down sometime, I'm sure."

"Shit, these are real muties," another man said, sounding delighted. "Got the camera, G?"

" Sure do," the figure beside him said.

Julian swept his arm across the area. The air was filled with snapping sounds, and a moment later the men dropped to their knees, screaming in pain.

" What did you do, Julian?" Laura asked, sounding uncertain.

" Relax, beautiful. Dislocated their kneecaps. Fuckers had it coming." He shrugged at her. " Why you so jittery? You, who brags  
about your hit list like it's the thing to have one. I'm not killing anybody."

"True," Laura said, folding her arms. He grinned and kissed her cheek.

"Oh, yeah, we're turning you in," Julian said, fist-pumping without looking over his shoulder. The men floated behind him  
like balloons. " Back to the jet. You'll be flying, I guess. I'll be in the back, kiting them behind."

**…**

"Nice catch," Julian said, watching Mercury drag an old man towards him, Laura and the jet.

"Don't be deceived, he was selling mutant body implants to U-men," Cessily said between gritted teeth. "The U-men scrammed  
and we couldn't catch them, but we sure shut _him_ down." The old man made a gagging noise.

" I'm sure if they ever make an action figure of you, it'll be sold with the Incredibly Devious Old Geezer," Santo remarked. He was  
holding a struggling, tattooed boy of about seventeen years. "He's a kick dealer. Tried to sell to me. Like I need it. Says he  
works for a Mr. Died-rich or something."

" Let him go," Julian said.

" What?! Dude, that stuff's _toxic,_" Santo exclaimed, amazed.

" It's…trust me, let him go. It's me, Santo. I'll explain later."

Santo's rocky fingers released the boy's forearms; the kid fell to his knees, glowering at them all. "I'm gonna tell him what you did!"  
he howled, then took off running into the night.

Laura looked up at the eleven floating men.

" Oh, yeah," Julian said. " Silly me, I caught eleven humans that raped two mutants to death. You don't wanna know what kind of rape."

" Urrgh," Cessily said. Sooraya offered a silent prayer under her breath. Blindfold remained silent for a moment. Then...

"It devours from within."


	21. 8: Omens 2:2 it devours from within

* * *

**Chapter 21: it devours from within **

* * *

" Nngn…" Julian mumbled in his sleep, staining.

_You called me,_ the voice whispered in his ear.

" Julian?" Laura asked, touching his chest. She was concerned.

_Is he alright? I hope it is just a bad dream._

" Aggh!" Julian sat straight up. "Oh. Laura. Sorry. W-what did you say?"

" Only your name," she replied, touching his chest. "You are sweating."

He wiped his forehead. "Nightmare," he answered. " Don't worry your pretty head about it."

He bent his head and kissed her hair.

Laura frowned but closed her eyes again.

**…**

Julian suddenly lost track of the conversation between himself and Cessily, his eyes trained on the tv screen. The news  
reporter was detailing a hostage situation by several mutants, happening in Seattle. His heart froze as they showed a  
clip—four wild-looking mutants were shouting and throwing things out of the fifth story of a tall office building—and one  
of them was Sofia Mantega.

"Oh, no," Cessily said, seeing the same thing. "Julian…"

"Break time's over," he announced, pushing his chair away from the table. "We have to get over there. LAURA!" he  
shouted the last part, banging on the wall. Whenever there was an emergency, he usually relied on her to help him  
round up the other teammates.

Two minutes later she was in the kitchen, zipping up her uniform and looking groggy. Her hair was still a mess; she'd been  
sleeping, again. She slept a lot of late. He took her aside, wanting to deal with her before the others arrived.

"Laura…there's a hostage situation…in Seattle. Sofia's involved."

This brought the reaction he had anticipated. She froze, her head tilted to the side, her eyes wide. "Sofia?" she asked, her  
voice rusty from not talking all day.

"Yes," he said. "I need you to know that she doesn't mean anything to me, anymore. She's just a friend to me. I chose  
you, okay?" He touched her stomach.

"Okay," Laura said, but he wasn't entirely sure she believed him. He wanted to really convince her but he didn't have time;  
he kissed her quickly and, taking her hand, pulled her towards what Cessily had decided would be called the Ready Room  
(she'd even crocheted a little wall doily with those words and hung it on the wall on her spare time).

"I swear to God, my uniform shrinks every time I wash it," Santo whined, shifting uncomfortably in his seat once they were in the jet.

"That's because it's _hang to dry_, Santo," Cessily said. "You should hand wash it. Of course spandex shrinks when you put it in  
the dryer, on maximum."

"I thought it would be faster," he grumbled.

Sooraya folded her hands in her lap. She was still cloaked in her usual black burqa and niqāb. Julian made a mental note that he  
should spend some time with her; he'd been so busy lately that he hadn't even gotten a chance to ask her what had happened  
after the school had been closed down.

Beside him, Laura was also quiet; her head was bent down. He suddenly realized she was reading—a book on pregnancy. He  
flushed furiously and hoped no one else would notice. Not that he could hide it for long…he'd never hear the end of it from0  
Santo, though.

**…**

After landing the jet—which had almost been smooth—he just got better with practice—Julian tried to organize the team. "Okay,  
hopefully this won't be too hard. I mean, Sofia was our schoolmate."

"I don't know," Cessily said. "She was a little too emotional. She wouldn't talk to me even then, just because I was on your squad."

"Stuck-up bitch," Santo offered.

"Yeah, well." Julian rubbed his neck. "Let's hope she listens. I don't wanna have to hurt her or her new friends if we can help it."

"Blindfold could induce a telepathic sleep." Laura said suddenly, looking towards the girl, who tilted her head in acknowledgment.

"Can you do that, Ruth?"

"Yes," Blindfold said. "She is angry and hurt and excuse me, she is jealous."

Cessily traded a glance with Sooraya.

"Right. Once we get in the building, you guys will wait in the foyer while me and Laura sniff things out. We'll signal you  
when it's time to come up."

"Now the only challenge is getting past the security guards," he said.

"Leave that to me," Laura announced. "Stay here. Ruth?"

"I see what you are thinking. Yes, it is done."

Julian watched, his eyebrows raised, as Laura strode confidently towards a group of S.W.A.T personnel, and pulled a card from  
the belt of her uniform. "Hello," she said, holding it towards the commander of the squad. "I am from S.H.I.E.L.D; Sarah Kinney,  
Director of Mutant Activities. I am here on behalf of Nick Fury; this concerns the Super Human Registration Act." Laura stared  
hard at the commander; good acting skills were crucial when the telepath was not fully-trained, or experienced, or all that  
strong. Or quite easily distracted.

"Oh…okay," the man said, stepping aside. Laura inclined her head, and the others followed quickly, Blindfold rubbing her temples.

The door swung closed behind them, and Julian cleared his throat. "That was really dangerous," he said.

"But awesome," grinned Santo. "You should try acting, you could put Tom Cruise out of work. He creeps me out almost as  
much as Blindfold here."

"I could not have done it without her assistance," Laura said. "Please do not make comments about her in my presence."  
She stomped ahead, and Julian grimaced. He shot a look at Santo then made his way down the hallway after her. Once  
they reached the foyer, he repeated his instructions and they split off.

**…****  
**

"Laura, Santo was just joking," Julian said, touching her shoulder when she paused to listen. "We…Blindfold's a little much  
for us to handle. I'm sure she has her reasons…but…"

"You used to talk like that, about _me_." Laura didn't look at him.

"I—" Julian rubbed his neck again, flushing hotly. "Yeah, I did. I had no idea. People can be stupid sometimes, beautiful…if you  
noticed, I haven't said anything about Ruth. I'm starting to understand, a bit." He smiled at her.

Laura raised her head. "They are five floors above us. Two mutants are discussing killing the hostages. They are thinking about  
throwing a child out of the window. Sofia is standing near the hostages, probably to watch them. There are two other mutants."  
Laura opened her eyes and fixed him with a direct look. "They are working for Magneto."

"Christ," Julian said. He felt disappointment; Sofia was really angry, then, and not the person he had thought at all, if Magneto had  
taken her in. He knew firsthand how hard it was to join the Brotherhood.

"Your heart rate is increasing, and you smell of adrenaline," Laura said suspiciously.

"C'mon," he said, taking her hand and pulling her towards the stairs.

**…**

Julian and Laura peered through the glass pane of the meeting room door cautiously. Their eyes took in the sight of two people arguing—an  
enormous man wearing armor, and a scruffy, black-haired man holding a wooden staff. In the corner of the room were three others—one was  
obviously Sofia, whose long, streaming hair was loose. She looked wild. With her was a girl with dark hair and pale skin—and a third eye that  
blinked lazily out of sync with the two on either side of it; as well was a large pink figure with a centralized skeleton that Julian recognized.  
He had been a friend of Quentin Quire, an arrogant boy from Julian's old telepathy class (when the Professor had thought he might have the  
talent hidden in him somewhere). Of course he had failed all the finals and the Professor had stricken it from his record,  
admitting that perhaps he was wrong.

"Glob Herman," Julian whispered after a moment. Laura squinted. "He's made of bio-paraffin wax. Extremely flammable." He looked  
at the older members, who were arguing in the center.

"Juggernaut. Oh, shit."

"I can cut off his helmet," Laura said calmly. "Then Blindfold can disable him."

Julian nodded. "I wish we could distract Sofia. Try to talk her out of this," he mumbled. "Maybe Herman too. I don't remember  
him being _evil. _Just easily misguided."

He pushed a button on his wrist and whispered for the others to come upstairs.

**…**

"So what's the plan?" Santo grumbled.

"I want to talk to Sofia and Herman first. I'm going to hold everyone against the wall—except Juggernaut. You guys still need to keep  
them busy—Rockslide on Cassidy. Uh, Dust, you work on that girl we're not sure about. Maybe you should go in with my first wave,  
and try to do a sweep. X-23, you and Blindfold on Juggernaut. Try to get his helmet off and then shut him down mentally. All right…  
count of three. Best to rush in and take them by surprise, I guess."

The doors blew open, as Julian sent a shockwave through the room. It caught everyone by surprise; Juggernaut crashed through the wall  
into the next office, and the others struggled, suddenly pinned, a foot above the ground, against the walls like magnets on a fridge door.

"Aw, look, it's the X-men," Juggernaut grinned, struggling to sit up.

"Hardly," Julian said. "You'd be better off if it was." Laura rushed towards Marko, somersaulting the last few feet and popping all her  
claws in midair. She swiped at his helmet; her foot claw caught a bolt on his helmet and it cracked. His hand shot up and grabbed her  
leg; he slammed her against the floor, Laura yelping.

Julian tried not to pay attention to this, though it was almost impossible. Maintaining his hold on everyone, he walked towards Sofia,  
his expression serious. Sooraya whisked past his face by millimeters in dust form, his eyelashes blowing in the breeze she left.

"Hellion!" Sofia said, gritting her teeth. "Let me go!" She sent a small volcano his way; he swept it aside effortlessly with his free hand.  
"Listen to me, Sofia. You don't want to do this. You're not like them."

"I am," she said, glaring. "I found my place."

"You're just angry—"

"This is my place!" Sofia hurled another twister in Julian's direction; he merely pinned her arms against the wall and increased the hold.  
She cried out; it felt like all the air was being forced out of her chest.

"Yeah, you always like to talk about what your wind is doing. Well, right now your wind is _leaving_ you, courtesy of my brain, till you hear  
me out." Julian said, standing in front of her. "You don't know what you're doing. These are innocent people. What if that was Laurie?  
Or David? Or Jay in the corner there? Would you do this?"

"Most of those people are dead, because of humans!" Sofia said, tears streaming down her face. "I don't care anymore!  
The humans have to die!"

"The humans must die!" Herman reiterated.

"Shut up, Herman. You're not doing this, either," Julian said. Herman lowered his head; he could already tell that the wax mutant was  
just looking for orders to follow, and wasn't really in this for himself.

"Way to 360, Sof. I remember us fighting about the value of humans, and you being on the human-hugger side."

"I do not care to hear you accuse me of being a hypocrite. You let me down," Sofia hissed. "I stopped listening to you the moment you chose  
_her_ over me." The air molecules in the room suddenly shifted; Dust was picked up from the area around the other girl (who had seemed to  
be putting up a good fight) and blown at full force over Julian's skin.

"JULIAN!" Laura shouted, abandoning Juggernaut's helmet at the last bolt and, ignoring her own directions about not being distracted  
during missions, she raced towards him. He was staring down at his hands; he could see the muscles. Everywhere. Most of the room  
had stopped to stare at the blood that was suddenly cascading to the floor. Laura touched his shoulder, her heart in her throat.

"Whoah, that was harsh," Herman commented. "Looks like she's a tad angry with you, man."

"Uh.." Julian held up his hand, and watched in amazement as skin suddenly grew around his wrists and met in the center.  
Blotchy patches appeared like polka-dots over the exposed muscles that currently composed over three-quarters of his body.  
With a weird, slurping noise, the skin sealed perfectly along his middle.

"Huh, didn't know I could do that." Laura seized his hand and examined it. "I think you have retained my healing factor," she said after a moment.

Suddenly, everyone realized they were free, and chaos broke loose. Julian hurled a comet-style bolt at Sofia when her back was  
turned; she fell to the floor with an angry sound. "Julian!"

He turned, and paled; Juggernaut had started running, towards him. Once he started, he couldn't be stopped…Julian tried desperately  
to hold him back, but he just kept coming. "Laura! Get his helmet off!"

She responded, jamming her claws into the side of the enormous man's neck just as he reached them and picked Julian up like a sack of  
flour. "Arrgh!" he yelled as he begun to pull his legs away from his body, one hand on his ankles, the other on his side.

"Take his helmet off!" Laura shouted. "I have severed the bolt!"

Julian concentrated, beyond the pain in his pelvis; the enormous man's helmet flew off like a disk, crashed through the window in a  
shower of breaking glass, and fell to the ground below. "Oops," Julian mumbled, spots swimming before his eyes as things began  
popping in his lower back.

"Blindfold!" Laura yelled, but the other girl was lying, crumpled, in the corner of the room, under Herman's pummeling hands.  
"No! Julian!" She swiped desperately at Juggernaut's head, but he caught her arms and flung her away like a paper doll.  
She hit the wall opposite. "Concentrate!" she yelled at Julian as Cassidy began to attack her.

Julian flexed suddenly, sitting up and seizing Marko's head between his fingers. _Sleep_, he said, without being aware of speaking.  
The enormous man's eyes rolled into the back of his head; his fingers let go and he staggered backwards.

"Oh, god! Come help us!" Cessily shouted. She and Rockslide were paired off against the unidentified girl, who seemed to be changing.  
Adapting to their attacks as fast as they could produce them. Her body warped to form holes everywhere that Santo punched; she thrust  
her fist into Cessily's throat and shocked her with electricity, causing the redhead to lose her grip.

Laura swept her foot under Cassidy's leg and severed his Achilles tendon with her foot claw. He shrieked and dropped to one knee involuntarily;  
Herman wrapped his arm around Laura's throat. She made a choking noise, trying vainly to stab at his internal organs, but she couldn't reach,  
and the areas she could reach did not make Herman release her.

Julian hit Cassidy in the head with a handy book; he fell to the ground, unconscious. The boy then swept Glob Herman away with a wave of  
his fingers, flattening him against the wall. "Stay away from her," he warned. When he let go, Herman was stuff to the wall, his waxy  
coating having adhered under the pressure.

The girl that Mercury, Rockslide and Dust were fighting seemed almost impervious. Sooraya did not know how to help; her opponent's skin  
had changed to a tough, leathery coating that was resistant to the effect of her flaying, and she did not want to kill her by entering her  
respiratory system.

"Ughn!" Laura ran towards the girl and tried to slice her from behind; the girl grew an extra arm that sprung out at X-23 like a jack-in-the-box.  
She flew, again, into the wall, her spine making a cracking noise.

"Stand back," Julian shouted, ripping the floorboards up around the girl so she was suddenly standing on air, completely dependent on his  
support. "Quit fighting or I'll drop you. We're six stories up, you'll die."

The girl grinned, exposing sharp teeth. "So sure of that," she said with a heavy accent. French? "Not if _you_ die first, monsieur." She opened her  
jaws wide and a disgusting disc of mucus emerged and flew straight for Julian's face; it slapped against his skin, sealing off his airways. He  
stumbled backwards, desperately trying to separate the molecules. He was burning for air, he'd exhaled just before it struck…he was dimly  
aware of Laura trying to pry it away.

Suddenly his skin burned white-hot, and the mucus simply melted away.

"You bitch," he snarled at the girl. "Now I'm just angry." He seized her spine—it squirmed in his mental grasp and tried to adapt away  
from him—she was evolving in his grip. He thought deeper, he could see her brain; the girl suddenly went limp as he shut something down.

"What the hell did you do?" Santo panted.

"I…I don't know," Julian said, confused. Half his uniform was gone; he'd been flayed alive by his ex-girlfriend, nearly broken in half,  
then suffocated. And to add to his exhaustion, he'd done three things he'd never done before.

"Can we just go home?"

"Yes," Laura said, taking his elbow. "I will fly the jet, with Santo's help."


	22. 9: Break From Reality 1:2 vow

**A/N: **what you've all just been waiting for...enjoy it while it lasts ;) /endhint mwahhaa

**Please note: **Nick Fury in Stages is not the regular 616 Fury, but rather General Fury from Ultimate X-men (he's modeled after Samuel L. Jackson in both manners and appearance, with an eyepatch). I just felt he fit better in here.

* * *

** Chapter 22: vow **

* * *

"Well, well, the infamous little Hellion from Xavier's school, and the living experiment from the H.Y.D.R.A project.  
We've been trying to shut them down for years, you know. Giving me grays." General Nick Fury stared at Julian  
and Laura across the desk, his thumbs pressed together.

Julian held Laura's hand under the table, another nervous habit of his, but she didn't mind. She breathed in the  
reassuring scent of his skin—she'd felt something she hadn't felt for a while, pure unadulterated terror at seeing  
him flayed alive. She didn't think she could have helped him in time. The night after she had tried to express just  
how much his skin meant to her in words, and failed; her other method had seemed to work though.

"She's not an experiment anymore," Julian said. "She's my fiancé. Her name is Laura. I'm Julian Kellar."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm sure." General Fury said. Although his manner seemed sarcastic, Julian found that he did not  
dislike the General; there was a sense of decency about him. He'd heard good things about General Fury around the  
school, that he was trying to straighten out the tangled, deceitful mess that was S.H.I.E.L.D. at the moment. "Although  
basking in my presence isn't the only reason you're here, as I understand it…you're handing in five members of the  
Brotherhood?"

"Yes," Laura said. "Cain Marko, Thomas Cassidy, Sofia Mantega, Evangeline Prideux, and Glob Herman."

"I see," General Fury said. "May I ask how you came to acquire three people on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most wanted?"

"We would prefer not to discuss this," Julian said firmly. He and Laura had agreed that no mention of their team would be the  
safest method; they were keen on avoiding the super human registration act themselves.

"I see," said General Fury again. "No way I could persuade you?"

"I'm sorry," Julian said. "We are merely seeking to assist your department by turning in some dangerous mutants we encountered  
that were about to harm civilians. We'll be in touch if we find anyone else."

"I will find out, you know," General Fury said as they stood up.

"It will not be easy," Laura remarked. They had consulted Mr. Diederich about the five Brotherhood people sleeping in their small  
containment cell, and he had advised them to turn them in to S.H.I.E.L.D., promising to arrange cover stories for them. This was  
definitely within his power.

"Nothing ever is," General Fury said, leaning back in his chair and holding out his hand. "Nice meeting you…you seem like good  
kids. Just don't get yourselves killed, hear? It's a dangerous world out there."

"We know," Julian said, shaking the offered hand. "It was nice meeting you too, General Fury. Hope to see you again, under  
good circumstances."

"Same here," the General said gravely.

**…**

"We are being followed, of course." Laura murmured, sliding her sunglasses down from her head. "Try not to look behind.  
I suggest taking three turns and stopping for lunch. We can decide our next actions there."

"Probably should ditch the rental and fly," Julian mumbled.

"They will see it," Laura answered, digging in her purse.

"Not if we fly fast," he said, taking the car keys she handed him. "If I really push myself, I can go at Mach speed. Maybe faster, I've never tried."

They got into the car, and Julian glanced in the mirror. Nothing out of the ordinary, but he believed every word Laura had told him.  
They'd stayed up all night, discussing their next actions. The safety of the entire team depended on it, and Julian really didn't feel  
like dealing with ONE sentinels on his own lawn.

"Flight is probably the best option," Laura agreed. "We should stop first. I am hungry. And they will be expecting us to escape now.  
It will catch them by surprise if it happens later."

Julian leaned over and kissed her, grinning. She was always hungry now, and he thought she was beginning to show the tiniest  
little bit. Not a bump yet, but a slight thickening. It scared him like crazy but it also caused a little pull on his insides; he was a  
very confused boy at the moment.

Not to mention what the hell his powers were doing.

**…**

"Yesterday…you touched Juggernaut, and he fell asleep. And then, you put Evangeline to sleep. I did not think that was telekinesis,"  
Laura said, in between slurps of her giant dish of cheese-baked noodles.

Julian swallowed his food, which was a baked potato with sour cream. "Yeah. It was weird. It was like…I was inside their heads, or  
something. Maybe…" he played with his fork in the potato, making a pattern. "Maybe the Professor was right and I _am_ telepathic."

Laura frowned. "A secondary mutation. Also, there is the matter of your retaining my healing factor. No one has ever done that before,  
in my knowledge, in either Wolverine's or my existence."

Julian finally inserted another forkful of potato and chewed thoughtfully. "I had a second there…I felt really hot, and I thought that mucus  
glob she shot in my face just melted off. But it must have been a TK thing."

Laura slurped a noodle up, staring at him. "You turned white for a moment," she said. "It was similar to a camera flash. You burnt the carpet  
you were standing on, I looked afterwards. The air around you was extremely hot."

Julian shrugged. "I dunno…I can't explain it. It has to be TK though…I've never heard of anyone getting two secondary mutations…let alone three."

"The correct terms are primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary."

"Yeah, okay, I got it wrong, Miss Smarty Pants," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not perfect. Unlike _you_."

"I was genetically engineered to be perfect." Laura drew up another string of her spaghetti dish, watching him.

"You still slurp your noodles," he pointed out.

"…"

"I was joking," he said, taking her hand. "So…when is the big date?"

"Big date?"

"The wedding. When do you want to do it? We should decide. If we're having a baby…Jesus Christ, I still can't believe that…if we're having a  
baby, we should do it right and get hitched before the thing comes out."

Laura tilted her head. "I did not know it was incorrect to have offspring without marital ties. Animals do it frequently."

"It's a human thing," Julian explained. "And kind of a mutant thing. Except for, well, Barnell Bohusk and Angel Salvadore. That was  
before you got to the school, though. They were in my flight class." Julian closed his eyes; he'd found them too strange for words,  
stranger than Blindfold and Laura.

"So…" he turned her hand over, studying her palm. "I don't really have any relatives to invite, and neither do you. Next Sunday sound good?"

"Okay," Laura said. "Cessily would like to be my 'maid of honor'. What is a maid of honor, Julian, and how do you become one?"

**…**

"OHMIGOD! Of course I'll help plan! Ohmigod, can we have it at the mansion here, in the garden? It'd be soooo pretty!" Cessily seemed  
to explode at the mention of the word 'wedding'; Julian wanted to rub his eyes, not sure if she actually _had_ exploded. He could have  
sworn he saw her mercury form break apart for a moment and crawl up the walls.

"Yes," Laura said.

"Do you have a dress? And a veil? You _have_ to have a veil, Laura!"

"No, I do not have a dress. Or a veil. I did not know they were necessary."

"They so are," Cessily said. "Me you and Sooraya are going shopping tomorrow. It'll be awesome. And we can go for sundaes after!"

"We have a practice session," Julian pointed out.

Cessily glared at him. "This is more important, Keller, and you _know_ it. Fuck your practice session."

Julian backed off, raising his hands. "Jeez, okay then. I thought I was the leader of this little pack."

"Only 'coz I let you be," Cessily said, half-jokingly.

**…**

"Ooh this one's pretty," Cessily said, holding up some fancy kind of ivory thing. Laura's eyes widened; she paused in her constant nursing of  
her enormous raspberry smoothie, the straw leaving her lips. She'd never worn anything so extravagant—she didn't _want_ to, ever. She saw  
the dress as a sort of deathtrap, should she have to fight. So many hold-fasts for an enemy to grab…

Sooraya noticed her horrified expression.

"That is…not Laura," she said, shaking her head. "I think she should wear something…simple…elegant."

Laura gave her a slight, shy smile; she didn't know Sooraya well, even though they had been roommates at the school. She didn't know what  
was an acceptable question to ask 'friends', and therefore she stayed quiet, and never made any. It was not that Laura did not want to know  
things. She was curious, always very curious about other people. Where did they come from? What had they seen in their lives. She liked Julian  
(in addition to the strange feeling of obsessive attraction) because he talked about himself a lot, volunteering information. How he felt, how he  
had got there, what he had done. What had happened today, what he liked, what he did not like. Etc. Laura almost never had to ask him  
for what she wanted to know.

This was usually the very quality that most people found annoying about Julian, but in turn it was the quality that Laura prized most;  
bringing to mind the phrase 'One man's garbage is another man's treasure'.

"What do _you_ want, Laura? This is your wedding." Sooraya looked at the girl.

"I…I do not know," she said quietly. "I have only been to one."

"Oh, whose?" Cessily asked, examining the dress.

"I do not know. I was there to terminate the godfather of the 'bride', Bruno Piccolo. I had twenty-three minutes and completed it in just under twenty.  
I was dressed as a 'flower girl', in a white garment with a hat." She looked at Cessily.

"What is a bride?"

Cessily and Sooraya stared at her, horrified. Laura felt uncomfortable; she had obviously done something wrong, but she wasn't sure what.  
She wished that Julian were there; it always made more sense when she could look to him to cover social interactions. She could only handle  
business transactions with ease.

"A bride…is the girl who marries the guy," Cessily said. "The guy is called the groom. Uh, the best man is the guy's best friend, and the girl has  
a maid of honor, which is the same thing. There's bridesmaids…and a ring bearer…and a flower girl, who comes along to throw flowers everywhere."

"Oh," Laura said. "What is the purpose of the flowers?"

Cessily blinked. "They're pretty…and they smell nice…and it's romantic," she said, at a loss for words. She was familiar with Laura's style, but hadn't  
imagined that she knew so little about some things.

"Where I come from…weddings are different," Sooraya offered, trying to make Laura feel less out of place. "There are dances by bonfires…and  
henna-painting…and prayers…and religious rights…the garb is different. We do not throw flowers about."

"I guess every person has a different idea of what their wedding should be," Cessily said.

"I do not really want one," Laura said. "I don't understand what it entails…Julian said it's about not being with anyone else, and he wants it, so I have said yes."

"It means more than that," Cessily said, frowning. "I don't think Julian's very good with words. When a guy asks you to be his wife…it's more like  
he doesn't _want_ anyone else, and he promises to take care of you as long as he lives, and share everything he has with you. It doesn't always  
work that way; people get divorced—separated—a lot, when it doesn't work out. But that's the main idea."

"Oh," Laura said again. "So he does not want Sofia Mantega?"

"No," Cessily said. "I don't think he does. Or maybe he does in a way, but he wants you more, Laura. I wouldn't worry about her if I were you."

Sooraya looked off to the right and saw a simple outfit on a hanger. She pointed to it. "I don't know your customs…but what about that one?"

Laura moved over to it and considered it; it was a simple, black halter dress that looked like an elongated version of the tank top she usually wore.  
"It does not look dangerous," she offered hesitantly.

"Brides can't wear black, it says they're not virgins," Cessily sneered.

"What is a virgin?" Laura asked.

**…**

"Do you understand what to do, Ruth?" Julian asked seriously. He was afraid the girl would get distracted in the middle, and the priest they'd hired would  
suddenly have a heart attack over Santo's appearance (Cessily was concealed by her image inducer, thankfully).

"Excuse me, yes, a ball of string, you pull one strand and it unravels," Ruth answered dreamily.

Julian wished the Professor was around to train him in telepathy. He hadn't been able to use the new power when he wanted to; he was only catching  
glimpses of internal monologues—often at inappropriate moments. For instance, he'd spent twenty minutes of last night watching sex with Santo from  
Cessily's viewpoint, making gagging noises while Laura tried to ask him what was wrong.

"Just to make sure, I'll go over it again. You make the priest think Santo looks just like a regular man. Someone not famous, and not present. Understand?"

"Excuse me, please, I am not stupid, yes." Ruth frowned.

Julian patted her shoulder. "Wasn't saying you were. I'm just worried and tired. I appreciate your helping us, Ruth. Me and Laura will always remember it."

Blindfold tilted her head. "Laura? Laura does not want it. She does not understand. You say it's what's right so Laura said yes. Excuse me, she does not  
realize what the future brings, though she's afraid, yes, very afraid now of what she saw and what she knows."

Julian bit his lip and refrained from commenting. He knew that although Laura didn't understand all of this, she trusted him; and he trusted himself not to  
mislead her. He was excited at the thought of possible telepathy; he would be able to share so much more with her, show her things; maybe she would  
understand how and why society did certain things a little better.

"Okay, let's get this over with," he said to Santo. "Tell me you didn't lose the ring."

"Naw, but I didn't wash my hands when I took a leak," his friend answered with a grin, brandishing the silver band with the small rock on it—almost identical  
to the one Laura had worn before, but with a prettier design, and a small inscription on the inside.

_To Laura and all the kids we'll have._

"Oh," Santo said, and Julian looked up.

Laura was heading towards them, almost tentatively. She looked very uncertain about being here; as if she was afraid she'd come to the wrong place. Her hair  
was coiled elaborately around her head, and she wore a tight, black dress that seemed to be pasted onto her body—yet she managed to look classy. She had  
the glow about her—the one that Julian remembered seeing his mother have when pregnant. He swallowed. He didn't think he'd ever seen anyone look so pretty.

"Hi," he said. It seemed insufficient but it was all he could really think of.

"Hi," she answered seriously. "I do not know what to do. You will need to instruct me."

"Say 'yes' in the right place," Santo said. "Should be easy, you like that word."

"Shut up, Santo," Julian mumbled.


	23. 9: Break From Reality 2:2 tahiti

**A/N: **Sorry guys, some of the questions you ask I can't answer without giving away too much in the future plot! I can answer that Laura is about 3 months or so along. In the next 1-2 chapters, it is mentioned that she is 3 and a half months into the baby. This chapter is floof...enjoy it...changes are coming.

* * *

** Chapter 23: tahiti **

* * *

"Having fun?"

Laura sipped the sweet drink made with some sort of coconut juice and nodded. "I like the food," she said, looking with vague  
interest at the blue water and the white sand over the railing. Julian had 'surprised' her with a small trip to Tahiti.

Getting Laura on the plane without planning would have been a bitch, as he had learned when he'd taken Cessily and Santo to  
his home in California, so he'd spoken to Mr. D. The man had arranged false doctor's papers stating that Laura had metal plates  
in her forearms to hold them together following a tragic childhood accident in the passenger seat of a car. In addition, he'd tried  
to offer the lodgings as well, but Julian had fought with him until Mr. D. agreed to just take the expenses off his next paycheck  
(a little bonus the strange man had thrown into their already luxurious team deal was that each person received a salary).

"You _would_," he said. "Do you like anything else here?"

"I like you," she said, with a small smile. He bent over and kissed her, grinning. It was nice, not having to worry about all the mutant  
problems for awhile; here, the natives were friendly, and mostly ignorant of such issues—plus the fact that both could pass quite  
easily for human.

"Have you thought of names?" he asked trying not to shudder. He forced himself to ask about the _thing_ that Laura was making,  
hoping it wouldn't be a screaming brat. He was sure he would love it the second he saw it—he loved it already, as a part of  
Laura—but it still scared him shitless.

"Yes," Laura said, surprising him. She wasn't normally so—normal.

"Oh really?" he asked, sitting on the lawn chair beside hers. His breath caught in his throat; she looked hot. Her curves had begun  
to fill out even more, and her skin was tanning nicely in the sun, and she had such a small outfit…he tried to focus on her answer.

"Sarah. I have not thought of a middle name."

"What if it's a boy?" Julian asked. "Boys run in my family."

"It is a girl. Ruth said it will be a girl. What do you mean, boys run in your family? You walk, often."

Julian touched her wrist lightly, running his thumb over it. "It's a term. What I mean is males are the more frequent gender born to  
women that have children within my relations." He tried to see behind Laura's sunglasses. "Ruth could have been talking about  
any child. She can see a long way into the future. She could be talking about the second one we have."

"A second child?"

"Maybe, if you're good with the first one," he grinned. "It was awful fun making it."

Laura finally noticed his mood and sat up slightly. "Your pulse rate and ventilations are increasing," she analyzed, alert. "Your body  
is warming by point three degrees. You are becoming aroused."

"What you gonna do about it?" Julian asked.

**…**

Laura sighed and tilted her head back as Julian ran his mind down her body, causing sensations she'd never thought possible until the  
first time he'd used his telekinesis on her. Usually, telekinesis felt like a firm, fleshy texture gripping her body parts; but a certain something  
that he did, when he had a mind to, felt more like a delicious burning; acupuncture-style. All the little aches and pains the baby had been  
causing disappeared as her own blood became hyperactive, healing the discomforts; and it caused other feelings, too.

When he was finished, he buried his face in her neck and curled around her from behind, his hands on her little rounded stomach, which was  
beginning to show a slight bump. They would probably have to share the news with the others when they returned. "Was that good?" he asked.

"…" Laura nodded sleepily. He kissed her shoulder. "Laura…I don't know if you'd be willing to…but would you help me work on this telepathy shit?"

"How?" her eyes opened, and she looked at Julian. It didn't seem negative.

"I thought…if, you know, I could try reading your mind, sometimes. When we both agree, I mean. I wouldn't do anything when you didn't know,  
or anything." He looked so worried that she would misunderstand him that she touched his cheek. "Okay," she said. "I am not hiding anything.  
Please do not bring up my past too much, though. It was…" she searched for a word. "Painful."

"Course not," he said. "You okay with trying it now?"

"Yes," Laura said. She was not worried about such an experiment; she had extensive training in hiding thoughts from telepaths; excellent shields.  
She could conceal entire areas of her mind from Emma Frost and Charles Xavier. It was not so much that the barriers were strong; it was that they  
were so hidden. "You may. I am ready." All of her thoughts, including her doubts about Julian's powers, were hidden behind barricades.

He closed his eyes and touched his forehead to hers, thinking. Laura felt him grimace, and smiled slightly. "Do not force it," she advised. "You are not  
trying to break into my mind. Picture a gate." She felt a tickle in the front of her head, and giggled a little. Each telepath she'd felt was distinctly different;  
Frost's manipulations felt like cold fingers (no pun intended); Charles Xavier's were like the strong, muscular fingers of a masseuse; Julian's attempt felt  
more like a child prodding something that might bite it, at the same time that she was sure it was distinctly green and full of itself.

"Oh," Julian said. "This is amazing…your head's so big."

"…"

"I didn't mean it that way," he said. "You're so scientific. It's how you were taught. You analyze things. Your thoughts are way more colorful, sharper.  
They're full of sensory data. Wow, you memorize smells?"

"Subconsciously," Laura murmured. "You could probably speak into my mind, if you tried."

_LIKE THIS?_ Julian shouted mentally. Laura made a face, trying not to pull away. "Too loud," she whispered. A normal person's nose might have bled  
from the volume, but Laura's had healed the instant the damage began.

"Sorry," he said, wincing. He could feel the pain he had just caused her, and he almost made his own nose bleed. "I'm not very good at this…yet."

"It's okay," Laura said. "Try again."

**…**

They stayed up all night, and by morning, Julian could hold a telepathic conversation with Laura with very few slip-ups (although every slip-up was quite  
devastating, and he had the most trouble gauging his introductory volume).

"It'll be handy in the field," he said. "If I can get it down…then we don't just have Blindfold for telepathy."

Laura raised her eyebrow.

"She doesn't need to leave," Julian added. "Ruth can stay as long as she wants, of course. She's done a fair bit for us. I mean that I can start using  
Cerebrex, too, and we don't always have to _talk_ if we're really close to the target."

"Yes," Laura said, sipping her strawberry smoothie. "It would be a strategic advantage."

Julian ran his fingers over her belly, intrigued by the smoothly stretching flesh. He could swear it was bigger than it had been last night, by at least  
a quarter inch. He kissed her belly button, and she smiled slightly, watching. She seemed content; again he paused to wonder at how far she'd  
come since that night he'd asked her out in the dorms. And how far _he'd_ come himself, with a baby he was responsible for right under his nose.

"It is nice here," Laura commented, tilting her head. "The breeze is natural. I like it, it is a change."

"You can smell the city?"

"Yes," Laura said. "This smells like palm trees, and sand, and salt. And people."

"I'll have to bring you again, sometime soon," he promised, running his hand over her hip. "Maybe we could convince Mr. D. that the  
biggest threat is out here."

Laura raised her eyebrow. "He would not believe you."

"It's worth a try," Julian said, enjoying how Laura took everything he said so seriously, so literally. At first it had bothered him, but he'd come to  
like the fact that there was one person in the world who _didn't _doubt him all the time just because he had a big ego.

"Want to go for a swim?" he asked suddenly. "There are sharks," Laura responded, watching him from behind her sunglasses and under the  
brim of her straw sunhat with a serious expression.

"What? Really?"

"No." The corners of Laura's lips tilted up ever so slightly. It was maybe the third joke he'd ever heard from her.

"Fuck you," he said, pulling her hat down over her eyes.


	24. 10: Return to Reality 1:3 the dr is in

**A/N: **Awesome, thanks for the linkage! I figured it out, some awesome Hellion pics there. I think fanfic is so gey, not letting us do direct links...wow, hehe. I've actually pencilled more than half of the first chapter of Stages already...looks pretty good to me :D I will as I said have it up perhaps in a month (school permitting). I ran into a problem where my paper is too large for the scanner...don't ask why I did not notice that before /blush.

* * *

** Chapter 24: the doctor is in **

* * *

"Want to join the mile high club?" Julian whispered in Laura's ear.

She raised her eyebrows, the usual, steady flow through her straw pausing as she removed her lips to reply;  
his eyes fixated on the pink structures.

"What's a—"

He put his hand on her knee and curled his fingers, using his handy new power to explain to her instead, in pictures.

"Oh," she said, putting her drink down.

"I…yes. I will be in the bathroom." He'd mentally informed her, quite clearly, that she was not to describe anything to follow aloud.  
He was quite proud of how far his telepathy had advanced in a short time; he was already able to project simple images to her—  
stick figures, at the moment. A few pictures as well.

Three minutes later, he got up himself and followed her to the washroom. A few people glanced at him, probably guessing what  
was really going on; but as they were being fairly discreet and were not harming anyone, nothing was said.

He tried the door; it was unlocked, just as he'd instructed her to do. He wondered if using powers would be considered cheating,  
since she could tell who was coming (and therefore when to unlock the door). And if anyone caught them, he could literally make them forget.

**…**

"That was…" Julian sunk back into his seat with a satisfied expression, although he tried to conceal it.

Laura tilted her head. "I wish to repeat it."

He opened his eyes and laughed softly in a startled manner. They'd already "repeated" the experience no less than four times, Laura urging  
him on (wordlessly); and about five times the night before. In the back of his mind, he had started to wonder if it was a new symptom.  
He touched her hand.

"When we land, ok?" He needed a rest, desperately.

"No," Laura said firmly. "Now."

**…**

"Had a good time, dude?" Santo grinned. "You look…exhausted. I thought vacations were supposed to give you more energy, or some shit like that."

"She's crazy," Julian groaned, rubbing his face blearily. "I didn't know too much sex was possible. I know—I just _know_ this is a new preggo thing."

"Preggo?" Santo almost dropped his drink. "You knocked Laura up? HAHA, oh god _that's_ why you guys tied the knot in such a hurry!"

Julian stiffened, and turned his head. He'd felt Laura coming, just as she'd known he was talking to Santo, and had heard every  
word of the conversation.

"Damn," Julian said. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone yet, I don't think. And no, you stupid rock, that's not why we did it. It's just a…"  
he eyed Laura. "…little bonus that came with the package."

Laura stared at Santo. "Will you tell Cessily?"

Both boy's eyes grew wide at the thought. After Cessily had heard the word _wedding,_ all organization in the base had gone to hell.  
There had been no patrols, no performing of their duties; part of the reason Julian had pushed for such an early ceremony was to get  
the whole Cessily thing over with.

" I wasn't going to do that," Santo mumbled. He only knew too well how Cessily could seize onto an idea and not let it drop. If she found out,  
his life would become full of baby, regardless of whether or not it was his. "Can you guys just leave the team to have it, please? Come back  
when it's in college or something."

Julian wrinkled his nose. "It's _my_ team. Why don't you leave?"

"Julian…Santo…" Laura said, her eyes still wide.

"Hi, guys," Cessily said, entering the kitchen. "What's cooking?"

Santo started giggling, and Julian smacked him on the head. A piece of rock broke off and rolled to the floor, where Santo stared at it.  
"Come on, dude, pick it up," he said to the other boy.

" What's so funny?" Cessily asked, her eyes narrowed.

" Nothing," Santo said, a little too quickly.

Cessily glared at Santo. He suddenly broke down.

"Laura's preggos," he whined.

" Santo, you little traitor!" Julian hissed. Cessily stared at Laura.

"Oh, my god! Laura, is this true?"

"…" Laura squirmed uncomfortably. "Yes."

Cessily frowned. " Why didn't you guys want to tell me?"

" We didn't want to tell _anyone_," Julian said firmly. " I accidentally let it slip to Santo. I was…tired."

"Oh," Cessily remarked, opening the fridge. Santo stared at her, then glanced at Laura and Julian. "Can you guys leave? I have to fix this."

" Kicked out of my own kitchen," Julian sighed, getting up.

**…**

The atmosphere inside the jet was tense. Cessily wasn't talking to Julian, Santo or Laura; Santo wasn't talking to Julian; and, as usual, Sooraya and  
Blindfold were quiet. To top it off, Laura was staring out the window, as if she didn't want to be there. Julian tried to focus on the jet controls.

He'd forced them to get ready. They'd been doing great on patrols, one every night for the past two months since they'd moved into the base, but  
he suspected they'd been slacking while he and Laura had gone on vacation. Two missing person cases had arisen in the area last Friday, while  
they had been in Tahiti. With a meaningful glance at Santo (who had supposed to be taking the team out every night), he'd announced that  
everyone was to suit up.

" Laura shouldn't go," Cessily said loudly. "She's pregnant, you know."

Only Sooraya and Blindfold did not know this; Sooraya gasped and covered her already hidden mouth while Blindfold did nothing, already having  
foreseen this. If anything, she looked a little sad.

"It's Laura's choice. She knows I don't think she should go, but I'm not forcing her, one way or another," Julian said firmly. "She knows how to  
take care of herself. And I'm there."

" I will go," Laura said plainly, still looking out the window.

" It's not right," Cessily grumbled.

"How far along are you, Laura?" Sooraya asked.

Laura sighed. " I am three months, one week and two days into the pregnancy. I am nearing the end of the first trimester." She raised her eyebrows.

"Would you like a detailed list of the symptoms I have experienced so far?"

Santo gagged.

" It's alright, Laura," Sooraya said, smiling slightly.

Julian glanced at Laura, who was still turned to the window. He could just see the small bump in the front of her uniform, and wondered how such a  
small thing could cause so much trouble amongst grown people.

**…**

"North is clear," Julian said, floating overhead Laura. She had insisted on covering the south quarter by herself; he still couldn't resist checking in on her.

Laura looked up, craning her neck.

" I have not detected any suspicious activity in the Southern quarter, either," she said. "It is a quiet night. Perhaps they have found a way  
to detect our presence."

Julian frowned. "I hope not. I'm worried about those U-men we caught before we left. Something tells me that's not the end of them."

" Mhmm," Laura said, folding her arms and staring into the night. Of all the enemies they had fought so far, she disliked the U-men the most. Perhaps  
it was the fact that the U-men seemed to bear the most resemblance to the facility; U-men had excellent, military-style organization, similar weaponry,  
and the same disregard towards mutant life. Except they wished to become them—not completely destroy them.

Laura shuddered involuntarily.

" Cold?" Julian asked, touching down behind her. She nodded. "A little."

He placed his hands on her shoulders and began to rub his thumbs in slow circles over her skin, meanwhile leaning over and kissing her neck. Laura leaned  
backwards into his body heat, her eyes closed. "That's it, I'm telling Mr. D. that you need a jacket for your uniform." Julian mumbled in her ear. She smiled  
slightly, putting one of her hands on his.

" Lookit that little display," a voice sneered. "Slacking on the job." Laura's eyes snapped open; a U-man was pointing a gun at her head. "Like my glandular  
implants? I have virtually no odor for you to detect."

"Virtually no brain, either," Julian commented, but he found he couldn't back up his threat. The U-man laughed.

" Powers gone? That might be U-man Franks over there." A woman in a disgusting rubber suit waved with a grin.

" Remember, the lobes are _mine_," she called to the gun-wielder.

" I don't _need_ powers to take you," Julian said, grabbing the lid off a handy trash can and running at the man. He sprayed him with a wave of razor blades;  
they bounced harmlessly off the metal disc. "Help!" the man squeaked as Julian pinned him to the wall, gun pointed towards his head.

" Oh for the love of _God,_" U-man Franks said, running towards him. Laura grabbed the woman from behind and held her fist to her throat. "If I allow  
my claws to eject, they will do so at a speed of 450.61632 kilometers per hour." she said, her claws straining to form points in her white knuckles.  
"Unless you wish to die, consider yourself detained."

" UGHN!" Laura suddenly released the woman, her eyes wide. "What did you…"

"It wasn't me," U-man Franks said. "But I'm grateful to whoever did it. C'mon, Jones," she said, taking off. The man suddenly evaporated under  
Julian's arms; he crashed into the cement wall with a dull thud.

"What happened?" he asked Laura, who was holding her stomach with a confused look. "Are you okay?"

"It—it moved," she said.

"Jesus Christ," Julian said, forgetting the U-men in a thrill of fear. It _moved,_ it had arms and legs and…a head. His…offspring. He felt like throwing up  
again, in ridiculous, pure, unadulterated fear.

Instead he put his hand on Laura's belly to feel the kicking. It tickled his palm, and he found himself smiling slightly. "Huh. Strong little thing," he said.  
"Takes after its mum, I guess." _Oh god, it's going to destroy everything in the house,_ he thought.

**…**

"Julian, why are you afraid?"

He opened his eyes. He'd been dozing on the bed, while Laura got ready herself, combing her hair and taking her collection of vitamins and supplements.

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

"About the offspring. I smell your fear whenever I speak of it."

Julian shuddered. "Laura…it's a big thing. I mean…the next twenty years…"

"Are offspring bad?"

He sat up. "First off…you can't call it offspring. The proper word is _baby_, or child…or kid. You call it offspring, you're going to get social services on our tail  
or something." He could just picture Laura mentioning her 'offspring' to some old lady at a store…he felt like laughing, but knew it was wrong.

"What is 'social services'?"

Julian sighed and reached for her hand, then pulled her down beside him. "Laura…you know a lot…_a lot_…about some things…but a baby…there's a  
lot of stuff you need to know, both technical and…well, just _social_ things. There's this thing called social services that can come and take your kid  
away if they think you haven't done something right."

Laura's eyes widened. "Like the facility?"

"No. Well, they'd keep you from your baby…" he frowned. "Can I show you?"

Laura nodded. He touched her forehead with his fingers—something he'd discovered worked better than head-touching, and shared a few insights with her.

"Oh." Laura paled. "I…I will try to call it a 'baby'…"

**…**

It rained heavily that night. At about midnight, there was a knock at the door; Laura shook Julian awake with a fearful expression. She was too far away  
to tell who it was, and she had been having a nightmare involving this 'social services' department that Julian had showed her; being awoken by a knock  
was not reassuring.

"Julian! Please! I am afraid. I do not wish to answer it," she whispered. "Wh-what if it's…what you told me earlier?"

He groaned and sat up, then realized she was almost a little hysterical, and patted her shoulder. "Shhh, they don't even know you're pregnant.  
Relax. Answer what?"

"There was a knock on the door," she said. "Please!"

"Alright, alright," he said, getting up and yawning. "Who the fuck would come here at this time? Ohh, I just bet it's Mr. D."

He pulled on a t-shirt, then descended the stairs. He tripped on the middle one and fell four before regaining his balance. Now a little annoyed, he twisted  
open the door handle savagely. "YES?" he snarled.

Dr. McCoy was dripping on the doorstep. "My compliments on your abode. It is certainly lovely."

"Thanks," said Julian, blinking.

"I rather like the tomato garden in the back yard."

"It's Ruth's," Julian said. "Cessily planted the rest."

"Quite nicely maintained, but there seems to be an uprooting amongst the carrots."

"Yeah, Santo got hungry. She didn't speak to him for a week. Uhh….what the hell are you doing here, at midnight?"

Dr. McCoy inclined his head. "I am sorry to have disturbed you from your slumber, Mr. Keller, my humblest apologies. My own living quarters were invaded,  
destroyed, just this night; and as I was fired the morning before, I have no where to go."

"Fired?" Julian blinked. "You can fire a doctor? I thought you had your own practice."

"The community made it quite clear that they did not want a mutant doctor in their midst." Dr. McCoy said patiently. "It is rather wet out here."

"Uh—come in, please." Julian stepped aside.

…

"Laura," Dr. McCoy said, nodding in greeting. The girl had been peering around the corner. She stepped into the doorway, her night clothes wrapped  
up in a big housecoat. Julian thought it might be his, but he didn't care or remember clearly.

"Dr. McCoy," Laura returned cautiously.

"Please, you may both call me Hank. I feel among friends here, a welcome feeling. I have missed having friends."

Julian sat across from Hank, his cheek leaning on his hand, the elbow of which was propped on the small round table. His hair was still ruffled from  
sleep. "So, I'm guessing you wanna stay here?" he asked.

"I feel quite embarrassed to ask, but yes." Hank put his paws together. "From what I have heard, you have set up shop as a team somewhat  
resembling the X-men. I would be very much interested, in exchange for a place to stay, in accompanying your team on outings and offering  
my services as a field medic."

Laura tilted her head.

"It would be an advantage, Julian," she said.

He nodded sleepily. "Yeah, sure, go for it. There's room in the attic, if you don't mind…it's pretty big, and it's clean."

"That would be perfect," Hank said, looking delighted. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."


	25. 10: Return to Reality 2:3 inheritance

* * *

**Chapter 25: inheritance **

* * *

_**Julian.**_

It was growing more insistent. The pull, the suction into the dark. Or was it the light of the White Hot Room? He struggled  
against the sheets, held back by invisible forces, sweat trickling down his skin. He arched upwards, fighting the space's  
grasp. No_…_stay away. He shook his head.

_You called me here. I am your inheritance. _

I don't want it, go back.

_I am part of you as you are part of me. _He winced, his skin was on fire. He watched as it was flayed away from his muscles again  
by Sooraya. It didn't stop there—it tore them apart, right down to the bones of his arm. He flexed his hand, the structures  
glowing white in the dark. They were like the core of a star.

_Listen. _

He was somewhere entirely different now, in empty space, streaming across. Floating. He was colliding, surrounding an empty core,  
breathing life. He was in every plant, every animal, every micro organism. Every eukaryotic cell, every archaebacteria. Every virus.  
He was evolving, along with life. It seemed to take forever and yet no time at all.

_**Stop fighting.**_

Objects whirled around the room faster; they'd been in slow orbit, around his unconscious mind. He sat up.

"Julian," Laura said, her voice firm. "Wake up."

He looked at her, unseeing; a trickle of something akin to fear travelled down Laura's spine. His eyes weren't green. They were white, glowing white.

They were smoldering.

"Wake up!" She smacked him across the cheek.

Julian seemed to clear. He rubbed his stinging, burning face and groaned. The objects fell to the floor in a shattering crash.

**…**

"Whoa, dude. Nice shiner. Who gave it to you?" Santo asked.

Julian flushed. Laura's slap last night had been harder than both had thought; he'd bruised like a peach. Which was odd—considering  
he had healed his entire skin just a few weeks ago.

"Abusive wife," he said flatly.

"_Laura_ gave that to you? Holy shit. She's like half your size." Santo grinned. "You musta really pissed her off. What'd you do?"

"Don't remember. She said I was really blanked out. I was having the weirdest dream…apparently I lifted a whole bunch of shit with  
my brain and did the orbit thing…only it was half the room."

"I'd hit you, too, if I saw you do that." Santo commented. "Fuck, I'd hit you just because." He grinned.

"Jerk," Julian mumbled, opening the fridge. "Fuck you."

"You wish."

"Oh—I thought up a good one," Julian said, grinning himself. "You and Cessily are literally a rock and a hard place."

"Dude, that's so wrong," Santo grunted. "And this from the guy that's doing a science experiment. I hope she doesn't make a clone of _you_."

Julian caught a movement out of the corner of his eye; Laura was turning away. "You asshole," he swore at Santo, slamming  
the fridge and running after the upset girl.

"What? I didn't know she was there," Santo called after him.

**…**

"He called me a science experiment," Laura said angrily. "He said I was going to clone you." Tears were running down her face;  
Julian vaguely realized that she had hit it—she was now officially hormonal.

"Laura—he was joking. Please don't get upset. I was being mean to him first."

Laura turned away. "Please, leave. I do not wish to discuss this."

"No," Julian said, trying not to sound exasperated. "You are not doing that to me. Please, listen to what I'm saying. Be as upset as  
you want—but be reasonable about it."

"Reasonable!" Laura fumed. "I do not see how I am being 'un' reasonable. He accused me of performing science experiments  
such as the one that created _me_."

"It was a joke," Julian pointed out again.

"I do not know what a 'joke' is!" Laura clenched her fists. "All I see is people not meaning what they are saying. What is the point of  
that? Why tell a lie when it is unnecessary? I do not understand."

"Laura…we grow up knowing something is true…and we tell jokes about those things, because we all know how the thing really is.  
For some reason, it's funny. Or something is really out of place. Do you remember the first time I made you laugh?"

"…" Laura looked at him, uncertain. "Yes."

"I said something completely inadequate and out of place in a bad situation. You thought it was funny…so you laughed. That's how people  
joke. They do it purposely, sometimes…and it makes others smile. Didn't you feel good when you laughed?"

"I thought I had broken something internally," Laura said gravely.

Julian continued to watch her expectantly.

"Yes." Laura looked away. She felt that Julian was trying to point out something to her, something that would prove she was wrong to  
feel angry, and she didn't like it. Her anger felt right.

"Exactly. People make each other laugh…sometimes out of affection. I like Santo…as a friend…so I try to make him laugh, sometimes."

"Oh." Laura avoided his gaze. "Do you try to make me laugh?"

"Yes," he said. "And smile. Which you do a lot more than you used to." He touched her cheek, his thumb running over her lips.

"I love seeing you smile, beautiful. I hope you know that."

Laura flushed slightly. "Yes," she said quietly.

Julian pondered on how complicated their relationship could be. They were married now, with a kid on the way, and here he was explaining  
the concepts of jokes and laughter to her—and she was angry because she had misunderstood him. Sometimes he felt like they'd gone right  
back to the beginning, and he was standing outside Laura's door all over again, rubbing his neck and wondering if he should be doing this—  
trying to tell her he liked her. But if he didn't, it'd eat away at him forever, and he'd never get any sleep.

He took her hand. "Come on. Santo's going to apologize to you, and then we'll go out somewhere for dinner. Okay?"

"Okay," she said.

**…**

"No way! I am not apologizing, Keller. That was a well-deserved burn."

"Santo…to Laura, not me," Julian said, Laura watching with folded arms. "Look, I'll go first. 'Dear Santo, I'm sorry I aggravated you by labeling you  
and Cessily. It was wrong and I am going to hell for it. The End.' Good? Your turn."

Santo grinned.

"Okay, okay, fine, Jebus. Laura, I said it to Keller, not you. I don't _really_ think you're cloning him or anything. I'm sure your baby will be all pink and  
wiggly and loud like normal, and won't inherit his daddy's mutant powers of gigantic ego and power trip. Thank God for M-day."

Julian smacked Santo on the back of his head. "Shut up," he said. "There, Laura, happy? He said sorry."

"Technically, the word 'sorry' was not amongst the fifty-two words used," Laura said. "However, it is sufficient. You said we were going for dinner, Julian?"

Julian cleared his throat, trying to ignore Laura's reaction.

Santo shook his head. "You married her, dude," he mumbled. "The whole reason I came to this little super-hero team is just to watch you guys.  
You're more entertaining than the Sopranos. Oh, yeah, and I keep vaguely hoping we're going to go up against the young avengers and the  
Hulkling. I still think that'd be awesome."

**…**

"My, my. Quite advanced for just three-and-half months along," Hank murmured, studying Laura's latest ultrasounds. The pictures showed a  
large white curl in the center of a black space, complete with limbs, a developed head, and a almost completely shrunken tail.

It was a girl.

Julian rubbed his neck. "You think…you think it's coming out soon?" They were sitting around the kitchen table, he, Laura, and Hank, each  
with a steaming mug of tea on a coaster (according to Cessily's insistence; she still was not talking to them, so the orders for coasters  
had technically come from Santo).

"It is entirely possible," Hank said with raised eyebrows. "However, at the rate it has been developing so far…you have at least another two months."

"Shit." Julian put his face in his hands. "Not good." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Laura's hands were under the table,  
and her shoulders were moving. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, jerking it away with a scolding expression; Laura looked away guiltily.

Hank ignored it, assuming it was an inside thing.

"You should increase your calorie intake, Laura, by another 300 daily. Perhaps more; I suspect your healing factor consumes energy  
just by being active. An additional 500 daily calories would probably be wise. And double your zinc."

"Okay," Laura said.

"Guess we have some shopping to do," Julian said, hating himself for speaking the thought aloud.

"Shopping?" Laura asked.

**…**

"I haven't been in a place like this since I was five," Julian said, feeling embarrassed to be standing in the baby department of toys 'r us.  
Laura looked just as lost; she was holding a list that they had made the night previous. She'd been unaware of babies requiring anything  
else than what she was naturally equipped with, since the only thing she had as a child was a barren white cell.

She'd been surprised to discover the infant would require clothes, for another thing. Or toys. She'd had nothing but a hospital gown as a child, let alone toys.

"What is the purpose of this?" she asked, holding a rattle.

"Um, kids like noise?" he asked back, at a loss himself. Laura examined the rattle, then put it back on the shelf. The assortment of bright objects  
with strange smells confused her; she was worried it would also confuse the offspring—baby.

But if other babies had these sorts of things, hers would, too. The evil Social Services facility would not have her offspring—child. She picked up a  
ring-shaped thing with keys on it and added it to the cart. Julian raised his eyebrows, leaning on the cart handle.

"It might be useful in future training," Laura explained. "I will teach it to pick locks."

"This kid is fucked," Julian sighed.


	26. 10: Ret to Reality 3:3 a strange mission

**A/N: **Anyone know where I can see pics of Julian's parents from the Hellions mini? Yes, yes, that might be a spoiler, but you'll never guess what happens next in the story. Tehehe. Because I'm evil...I'm going to let on that I've written up to Chapter 46 and am slowly feeding them out. Isn't that annoying? I hate it, personally, having to wait...but I want this story to be a bit like comics. BTW I was reading Wolverine: Origins #28 ("Original Sin"), and Hellion makes a tiny cameo. I was like buying all these other comics to try to gather the ones he and Laura are in...and I open that one and BAM! There he is, one panel. I was like "huh, I got my money's worth! I can go home happy now." And then I felt an itch in my head, so I hunted down my collection of the Origins series (it took a while...yes, I may admit to Chronic Nerd Syndrom, I am sure my boyfriend will be embarassed by it if we move in together--so far it's been easy to hide but damn do I have alot of comics...anyways) and yeah THAT'S where I saw him before I started reading New X-men! Hellion had a fair amount of cameo-age in Wolverine Origins #5 (a brief appearance in #4 as well). Not much script, but not bad for a cameo, and it showed him basically begging Captain America for orders--kind of odd and worth noting since he usually takes over all on his own. Adds to the 'wish to be a respected super hero' thing? Yeah I've said too much...I will shut up now...I felt chatty and my friends weren't on. MMmmmmkkthxbye!!

* * *

** Chapter 26: a strange mission **

* * *

"Knock knock," Mr. Diederich said, peering through the door.

Julian almost dropped the drink he was carrying. No. No. Mr. Diederich was holding a suitcase—_no, please oh God tell me he's not staying_—  
no wait it was a briefcase. He was dressed in an immaculate European suit that looked like the shirt cost more than Julian's entire wardrobe.

"M-mister Diederich," Julian stammered. He was unprepared to face his boss, without Laura here. Laura. _Laura, quick, come down,_ he thought,  
trying to look neutral. The man had opened the door wide and was stepping in, grinning from ear-to-ear. He was just so weird. Julian  
suppressed a shudder.

"Oh, _relax,_ Julian," the man said, reaching into his breast pocket and withdrawing a one-step hand wipe. Julian watched in fascination as  
he opened the packet with a small _shripp_ sound, then proceeded to wipe each finger quite thoroughly.

"I can feel your anxiety frum here," the man said. "Do remember, ja, dat I am vell informed uv your marriage to Miss Laura."

Julian swallowed. "I wasn't—"

Mr. Diederich tapped his temple.

"Oh, right," Julian mumbled. He'd forgotten that Mr. Diederich's primary power was empathy. "I—Laura!" She'd just come down the  
staircase, an inquisitive expression on her face.

"Mein gott, you are enormous!" Mr. Diederich exclaimed. "Big as a house! You did not inform me dat you are preganint, ja?"

Laura stared at Mr. Diederich. "I am quite capable of performing any services you might require," she said firmly.

"But—I had not anticipated—"

"Your intel is not as diligent as you would assume," Laura said. "I suggest you restaff. I am still willing to accept the assignment."

Julian leaned on the banister and watched Laura. "I don't think you should—"

Laura held up her hand. "Julian, please. I am more than capable. What are the mission parameters?"

**...**

"Laura, please. Don't do this."

Laura ignored him, struggling to zip up her uniform over her stomach. It was a black, full bodysuit—one he had not seen before—  
and far too tight. Julian took ahold of both sides with his fingers, then mentally eased the zipper up. Her pregnancy bulge was  
more obvious in the black fabric.

"Thank you." She strapped something around her wrist.

"If you won't stop…I'm coming with you." The closet door opened, and his own gear came to his fingertips.

"No—Julian—I am fine."

"I'm _going_," he said, his voice firm.

"Your uniform is too bright. You will be seen." She was grasping at straws.

Julian touched her shoulder and concentrated. Laura watched, fascinated, as a stream of black molecules swirled  
over his skin and filled in the red areas. The entire suit morphed to resemble hers.

"How did you—"

He grinned and kissed her lightly. "Does it matter?"

**…**

_Ewwr, it smells down here,_ Julian said into Laura's mind, examining the sticky wall of the sewer with a look of distaste.  
In the jet, she had asked him to refrain from speaking during the mission; also, to open a mental link.

_How are you handling this? _

_It does not matter. Please concentrate._ Laura's expression was serious. She crouched as they reached a corner.

_Is there anyone around the corner? _

_Can't you tell? _He asked. Laura stared at him; he closed his eyes, then shook his head. _No, I don't 'see' anyone. I think your ass  
looks nice when you bend over, though…you should do it more. _

_Go back to the jet, _Laura thought at him angrily.

_Sorry._ He followed her around the corner, copying her quiet footwork and noting how she avoided the water. _Why don't I just fly us there?_

_Your powers glow. We cannot risk being seen. _Laura had only shared with him a few details on their mission; they were here to steal something.

_What does Mr. D. want from the sewer? _

Laura did not respond, but he felt a reluctance from her; she could not, or would not, tell him. He frowned.

_How I can I help you when I don't know anything? This is ridiculous, I thought I'm the leader. _

Laura whirled around, her eyes flashing. _You are the leader when I tell you that you are. We agreed before, I will handle  
Mr. Diederich's private transactions myself. _

_We never 'agreed' on anything. You're my wife now, and you're carrying my child,_ Julian pointed out, shaking his finger. _I've kind of  
got a lot invested here, and I'm not about to let you do this alone. You have to do it—fine. But you _will_ tell me what's going on,  
and you _will_ let me help you, as much as I can. Clear? _

Laura looked furious.

_Goddamnit, Laura. Don't you see what this is about? I love you, and I'm afraid you're going to get hurt,_ he said. _You think I don't know  
anything—but I learn, fast, if you'll just tell me what to do. You don't have to do everything alone._

**…**

Laura turned away from him, and they proceeded. Soon they reached a large room, its floor lined with distilled sewage. Julian almost  
gagged, but succeeded in repressing the urge. A hand across his mouth, he crept after Laura. She seemed to be singularly focused,  
blocking everything out.

_There_. She pointed at the center of the sewage pool. _We will have to dive. _

_Forget it. _Julian stuck out his hand; she grabbed his wrist. _No! They will see such an action._ She seemed to point mentally towards the  
corner of the room; Julian suddenly understood that there was a surveillance camera there.

_Easy. I'll loop the tape. _Julian looked at the floor, thinking about the camera; he focused on the inner mechanisms, thinking back to  
everything he'd learned about manipulating things without seeing them. Before Mrs. Grey-Summers had left the school, she'd  
instructed him on how to telekinetically disable security devices. He preferred to look at things, and use his left hand to channel  
the power; it was stronger that way.

A moment later, he turned to the pool, and sewage floated up into the air, leaving an empty concrete pool.

_There._ Laura pointed; a small metal lockbox sat on the bottom. She kneeled down and stuck one leg over the edge; Julian swept her  
up in his arm with a grin, the other directing the box to her hands. _Like I'm going to let you in there. I wouldn't be able to sleep with you for a week. _

Laura smiled, reluctantly. She was still annoyed, but Julian _had _made this mission easier. He kissed her, inadvertently releasing his hold on  
the floating sewage. _Oops…_ he just managed to surround them with a shield when a wave of sewage swept over them like a tsunami.

_Sorry. _He swept the sewage molecules off the concrete, leaving no trace of the spillage; this made Laura stare in wonder, and perhaps a  
little fear. He was definitely growing more powerful.

_How—_

_Still doesn't matter, does it? _He asked smoothly. _Back to the jet. _

**…**

"Ah," Mr. Diederich said, delighted as Laura presented the lockbox to him. "Dis eez wonderful. I am truly pleased. I trust you obtained  
deez box weethout undue trouble?" He looked absurdly concerned. _Why would he give us this crazy mission in the first place if he cared  
about us?_ Julian wondered.

He wondered what was in the box, too.

_I could tell you, _something said to him, offering insight. A moment of dizzying temptation overcame him; he realized the answer was  
literally standing in front of him. But it would be wrong. _Having_ the power didn't mean he should _use _it. Xavier's code preached that,  
again and again. He repressed the voice.

"I vill be in touch. I love vhat you've done vith zee place, and I've more assignments for you," Mr. D. said, licking his lips. Julian shuddered.

"Did you try to read his mind?" Laura asked, after he had left.

"No," Julian said, wondering how she had known he had just been thinking about it, at that instant. But then, Laura was quite smart, and  
she must realize how tempting such a power could be. It was like doing a math final with the answers right beside the worksheet.

Laura said nothing.


	27. 11: Come Full Circle 1:2 labor

**A/N: **OMG, OMG, the big event is here!! I've been waiting, waiting to post this chap and the next for a very long time. I'm excited. I hope you're excited, too...you may or may not be surprised by the contents of this chapter ;-)

* * *

**Chapter 27: Labor **

* * *

"Cessily..." Julian pulled the silver-skinned girl aside as the meeting dispersed. "I want to talk to you."

She looked annoyed. "What? Are you _sure _you really want to do that? I might, you know, annoy you by trying to be considerate."

Julian winced. "Cess…I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I love you, I really do…you and Santo and Sooraya—and Laura—are my  
best friends, my only friends. You should know that by now. I don't want anything to come between us."

Cessily looked away. "Sure you don't want to hurt my feelings. Around you, someone _always _gets hurt, Julian. You're a jerk!" She  
stormed out of the room, and Julian leaned on the desk, wondering why he was so socially inept at times.

He'd never had this problem before he'd discovered he was a mutant. Maybe it was yet another power of his.

**…**

"X! The left! I'll handle the right! Mercury, Rockslide, center!" Julian was barely able to spit out orders, occupied with defending himself.  
It appeared that S.H.I.E.L.D had failed to detained the apprehended prisoners; they'd been lured into a booby-trapped warehouse,  
and were engaged with fighting off a large portion of the Brotherhood.

And then it all went to hell as Magneto made his presence known.

"You disappoint me, Keller." the old man said coolly. Julian was slammed into the wall, along with the rest of his team, two of which possessed  
metallic body parts and the rest trapped in Kevlar-lined uniforms.

"I wasn't trying to impress you," Julian said through gritted teeth. "I thought your powers went bust?"

"To quote Monty Python…I got better." Magneto turned to his own team, which had ceased their actions. "I suppose we can consider this an  
unqualified success. They won't be interrupting any more operations. I am extremely disappointed that you could not handle this with your own means."

Julian fought the panic about his ribcage being squeezed to breaking point and instead focused on resisting the push of the magnetic force  
field with his own. It was as if the air was made of glue; he could not send his energy through it. And his powers were weaker when he could  
not extend his hand to route them through.

"Hellion! Concentrate on his helmet!" Laura shouted, her hands pinned against the walls. Julian glanced nervously at her; he hoped the  
magnetic forces weren't hurting the baby.

_I can't get through his shields,_ Julian thought at her. She bit her lip in concentration, analyzing the situation. _I think we're fucked, Laura. It'd be  
better to just go along with them till we can break free. Sound like a plan? _

_Yes. _ Laura thought back, looking uneasy.

Julian transmitted the plan to the others.

**…**

"This is so gay," Santo grumbled, sitting on the fold-out wall cot and staring at the white cell wall across from him. "I'm hungry, and tired, and I'm  
missing the game on FOX—and my girlfriend's three stalls away in a soundproofed cell so I can't even have phone sex with her."

Julian rubbed his forehead. "Santo…that's so gross. I'm sitting _right here_. Please, tell me you wouldn't…I'd vomit all over myself."

"Nothin' else to do in here," the big rocky mutant grumbled. "You're so lucky. I bet you and the clone are up to all sorts of kinky brain sex like Summers  
and Frost used to do during assembly."

"Actually, I'm trying to figure out a way to get us out of here," Julian said coolly. He didn't add that the brain sex had finished about half an hour ago,  
when Santo was sleeping fitfully. Laura was leaning with her back to the wall on the other side of the cell; it comforted him to think that if the wall  
wasn't there, he'd be touching her. Telepathy wasn't as good as the real thing, but it was a hell of a lot better than nothing. And it was all he was  
going to get, having been in the cell for about a week. Before he'd entered it, he'd just been able to engage in telepathic conversation; now he could  
stage mental fantasies and project astral forms.

Amazing what a little desperation could do to a guy.

"Well, you just keep thinkin', then," Santo yawned. "I'm gonna sleep some more. Wake me up if like a Sentinel tears off the roof or something,  
I'd hug its leg for giving me shit to do."

_You still awake, beautiful? _Julian asked, closing his eyes. He sensed Laura's nod. _Any ideas? How's Ruth holding up?_

_Ruth is…the same, _Laura thought back. _I have not detected any change in her condition. _Blindfold had received an injury in the fight; an arm fracture that had  
broken the skin. Magneto's team had not been barbaric enough to imprison her without care; the medics of his team had treated it properly, setting the  
fracture, then splinting her arm and placing it in a sling before properly doping her.

Still, she had not been checked on for a week, and Julian and Laura were worried that it would become infected.

_Odd, that they proofed everything else in this place except telepathy, _Julian commented idly, sending a sort of invitation to Laura. She acquiesced, and a  
moment later they were sitting under a tree. He pulled her closer to him and eased her down so her head was on his lap, then began to stroke her  
hair soothingly. _And how are you, Ma'am? _

_I am alright. The floor is tiring to sit on. The baby is pressing on my bladder and I have had to use the toilet five times in the last hour. _

_Is it bigger? _he asked, his thumb running over her lips.

_Yes. I would approximate the size of my stomach to have increased by 3.54671123 centimeters. _

Julian shifted uncomfortably in reality. _Oh god, we've got to think of something before it comes. That would fucking suck. _

… Laura thought back.

_I love you_, he said sadly.

_I love you as well, _Laura answered, looking up at his astral form.

…

"So it is true, then?"

Julian looked up, startled awake. He'd been dreaming about the white hot room again, except Laura was with him this time. He'd seen himself  
as if from the outside, touching her forehead with his fingers and sending fire shooting into her head. He'd tried to stop himself in the dream  
when a voice shook him away.

He turned his head, and his breath caught. Sofia Mantega was standing in front of the electronic force field, her hands on her hips. She'd cut  
her hair, her long beautiful hair, into a short, shaggy cut.

Julian swallowed, feeling both attracted and afraid at the same time. Last time she'd seen him, she'd taken his skin off.

" Relax, I will not hurt you," she said. " I want to know if it is true. Did you marry X-23? Is that your baby she is carrying?"

" Yes," Julian said. "Her name is Laura. She's my wife."

Sofia tilted her head. "You always did like strong women," she said critically. "Frost, me, and now X-23…Laura. You are this team's leader,  
but I am sure it is she who makes the important decisions."

"…" Julian looked away, a flush rising to his cheeks. "Not your call to judge, Sof. You weren't much of a leader yourself. If I remember right, you  
passed it all on to David Alleyne…God, you guys made me sick, you were so unorganized."

"So I am correct," Sofia said, smiling slightly. "I did not think it possible for you to change so much. You just enjoy being firepower, and bragging, but  
when it comes down to living and leading, you hide behind your woman. You are more like a scared child looking for his mother."

"What's your damage, Mantega?" Julian asked. "I never did anything bad to you. I even tried to convince you not to go with these people."

Sofia laughed. "You never did anything bad to me? I…I loved you."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Well, tough luck. I'm a married man. Go away and let me stew in my own miserable juices." Julian turned his head to the wall, wishing she would just leave.  
He still felt a spark of attraction for Sofia, and the fact that he hadn't done anything in almost two weeks was severely affecting his judgment.

" I am the villain, then?" Sofia asked.

" Yeah, you're the big bad. Just go."

" If I were evil, I would not have come to inform you that the X-men are on their way," Sofia said. " I…I do not wish to see you hurt, Julian, or any of the others."

Julian snorted. " You only took off my skin."

" That was an accident," Sofia said, flustered. "I did not realize Sooraya was so close. I was shocked…I do not remember anything that followed, except that you  
survived, and I was so grateful. I do not want to be a murderer."

He got to his feet. "Are the X-men really coming?" he asked, suspicious. If it were a trap?

" Yes," Sofia said. "Read my mind, if you doubt me. I have heard that you can do that now."

Hesitating, Julian connected with Sofia's thoughts. He found that all of her words were true—including her love for him. _I am so glad Laura can't see this_, he thought  
to himself, blushing slightly. " Okay. Good. I'll let the others know, so we're ready. Are you coming with us, Sof?"

"No," she said, looking down. "Not as long as..."

" Sorry to hear that," Julian said, frowning.

**…**

It was then, at that moment, that he realized what was happening. It ran down his spine with a thrill of terror. It wasn't during a fight, ironically. It was in a  
clean, quiet hospital room, looking at a clipboard. The baby…the baby that started it all…it was _his_ baby.

Julian came to this conclusion through an intricate series of events which began in the middle of the humungous fight between their rescuers and their captors.  
Laura stumbled over to him and gripped his arm, her face flushed and glistening with perspiration. He turned from the frog-guy he'd just blown into the wall, and  
knew—_knew_—without words, without reading her mind—that she wasn't in a weakened state from the rapidly healing wound on her shoulder.

"Oh, fuck _me_!" he exclaimed, grabbing by the waist. "I have to get you out of here. Fuck, fuck, fuck." He scooped her up into the air with him and gave it all he had,  
leaving the battle faster than the emanating sounds. "Fucking Keller!" Wolverine, who happened to be present, roared after him. "There goes the back-up!"

_I think we have a wee little problem on our hands,_ Emma said into the X-men's minds, as she watched Hellion disappear into the distance with the exact problem  
she'd tried to prevent.

He hadn't understood just why she'd sought to keep him and Laura apart.

**…**

"Laura! Hold on!" Julian said between gritted teeth, the wind ripping away his words. _Don't make me keep it in for you, I'm freaked out enough already!_

_I am…sorry_. Laura said, her eyes wide. It hurt…she was used to pain, but this was different. This was as if her body was rebelling against her.

_I will try to repress it. Should I…cross my legs?_

He smiled, a little, despite himself. A joke from Laura in a serious situation had to be the end of the world. _Hold on. I'll get you somewhere safe so you  
can have the damn little thing, pain in my ass. _He thought the last part affectionately. As scared and panicked as he was, he didn't want any harm to  
come to either his wife or the important little _thing_ she was carrying. They were all the family he had.

Flying at mach speed with a shield produced fast results, especially when he didn't care where he was going. The path shot straight through skyscrapers,  
down highways, and right through the doors of the first hospital he could find. They skidded to a halt at the end of the corridor, barely avoiding the wall.

"Help her!" he yelled at a nurse.

"What seems to be the problem?" She asked coolly. The nurse was terrified, but she hated mutants, and this jerk had just proved himself to be a big giant honking one.

"Oh, I don't know, a few bruises, a small cut…oh yeah, and the baby, if you didn't notice." Julian set Laura on her feet carefully. "So, yeah, set her up."

"Seeing as I don't care whether your little hell-spawn lives or dies…no." The nurse turned to go.

Julian raised everything in the hallway by three feet—including the nurse—and threw them against the wall, furious. _Help her,_ he commanded with a  
sneer. _Or I'll fuck you up so bad you'll wish you were dead. _

The walls cracked under the pressure, and several rooms caved in. Laura leaned against the door, trying to focus beyond the pain. Julian was doing  
something to the nurse—bits of her clothing were beginning to disintegrate, flaking away molecule by molecule.

"Julian…" she said, trying to stop him.

"No!" The nurse screamed. People were running out of the rooms, terrified. "Let me go!"

Julian squinted. The woman exploded in midair, her particles shattering into a million pieces. They rolled down the hallway, around the walls like tiny  
marbles—then they rearranged to reform the nurse, shaken and white with terror.

"OH GOD!Y-yesanythingpleasedon't," the woman pleaded.

Laura felt sick. She'd never seen a psionic display so much power—not since Rachel Summers, and maybe not even then. She'd seen why, too.

"Phoenix," she said flatly. Julian was on fire, with a weird bird-shaped thing around him. He looked at her with black, smoking eyes.

"Go have your baby, she'll help you now," he replied.

**…**

There seemed to be nothing beyond it. Julian was holding her hand—was it him? He looked like normal. She must have been imagining it all.  
She slammed her head back against the pillow in convulsion, the cords in her neck standing out. The epidural would not hold; she'd had three  
in the past ten minutes, but her healing factor blotted it all out. Her stomach was one giant knot; she didn't have time to breathe.

"I can block your pain receptors," Julian said suddenly. "Here." He touched her forehead, and suddenly the horrible aching ripping sensation  
overtaking her entire abdomen was gone. She gasped for air like a dying fish on land.

The nurse shuddered. She wanted to see the backs of these people—badly. She'd been just leaving for her coffee break when she was suddenly  
yelled at by a crazy mutate—and then—atomized. She'd wanted to wet her pants when she was being swept around the hallway, except at  
that moment she hadn't had a bladder to empty.

**…**

"Where did they go?!" Wolverine yelled at Emma. She smiled sadly.

"We needn't worry about that, now," she said. Behind her, Scott started.

"What do you _mean_? Of course we have to worry! If the baby is a mutant, it could start the whole war all over again! The Purifiers…"

"Don't you see?" Emma asked. "Scott…Logan…this baby…this _is_ the baby. Hellion's and X-23's child is the baby that only a little over five months ago, we  
fought a bitter war for. And for whom many people were killed." She tilted her head. "Did you not understand _why_ I was so desperate they be kept apart?  
Why I was so concerned in finding Laura after she disappeared from the team? Those foolish children have gone and done something more terrible, even,  
than the holy war fought over their offspring."

Wolverine's claws slid out involuntarily. "Whoa, whoa, back the fuck up. _Laura's pregnant? _To that little shit Keller? I'll tear him a new one!"

Emma smiled again. "Darling, hardly. That 'little shit' is only the latest incarnation of the Phoenix…and their offspring is doubled in value because of that.  
Not only is the baby a mutant—the first mutant to be born after M-day—but it is next in line as heir to the Phoenix force. Essentially, the goose has lain  
the golden egg."

"Phoenix?" Scott asked, pale. "I didn't know Julian was of any relation to Jean."

"He isn't," Emma said coolly. "Not everything is about our dear former headmistress, you know. He's only the world's last telekinetic—at the moment. And  
I do believe that he's generating more power at this moment than Jean Grey-Summers in her finest hour. Yes, we have a nice little catastrophe on our hands."  
She pulled on her gloves. "Scott, I did tell you that my nifty intuition suggested a sex-ed class at the school, and perhaps that we install condom dispensers  
in the boy's rooms. It is far worse to preach ignorance than acknowledge our dears are growing up and assist them in the endeavors. When will you learn  
to listen to me?"

"Maybe next time," Cyclops said grimly.

"I'm still confused," Logan growled. "The baby war's over. Cable has it. Cable…oh shit."

"Exactly," Emma said. "I do believe that Cable time-jumped."


	28. 11: Come Full Circle 2:2 rape me

**A/N: **Haha, yes, Choi rocks. However, for some reason I felt that he drew Laura a little less pretty than before :( I'm not sure...I might have been biased by accidentally reading a review of his Laura-work where someone said he didn't draw her as looking pretty. I am extremely vulnerable to other people's opinions...lol. They stick in my head. Anyways, here we go...this and the next chapter are my faves.

**Laura K. Howlett: **I would love to put ur drawing up!! That sounds so hawt. I'm gonna be doing a few of Phoenix Hellion + X-23 myself, should be...hawt, literally. Oooh that was a bad one . . . V.V lol lemme know! my e-mail addy is on the website...which is also, incidentally, my MSN if anyone wants to chat about our favorite pairinf, I'm usually up for that. Who am I kidding...I always am up for it. I will probably make people block me...lol. ahem anyways yup STUFF! oh yeah and that baby...read this chap for my take on it ;-) it's who I think the MC comic baby is.

**zackslacker18: **sorry, this is a bit complicated to read by chapters. Chapter 27 is like the first part of a realization: Chapters 28 & 29 elaborate. If you read it straight through when they're all out, it will make alot more sense. It's one of those time paradoxes ;)

**ANOTHER AUTHOR'S NOTE: **This chapter is titled after the Nirvana song _Rape Me_, which was one of the inspirations that helped me write this chapter. I don't believe in the traditional song fic; but I really suggest youtubinb or facebook or pandora'ing this song or whatever way you can get to hear it if you haven't before...it's worth it. Or look up the lyrics. Alot of chapters after this one have song bases, and you can google the title to find the lyrics for the song...I will put a note every time it's related to something you can look up. It kind of gives a cool little extra insight to the character's thoughts.

* * *

**Chapter 28: rape me **

* * *

"Easy, easy, it's over. Breathe." Julian stroked her forehead, watching the nurse carefully as she finished cleaning the baby's  
airways and tying the umbilical cord. He didn't know how he felt yet. He felt disconnected, spaced out; this couldn't be happening.

"It's a girl," the nurse said quietly, surprising neither of them.

She laid it on Laura's chest carefully, smiling as the baby's foot kicked up her sleeve; despite her earlier words, and her fright, she  
was not an evil woman. Seeing a small, innocent, normal-looking creature had soften her outlook slightly.

"Ohh—" the nurse gasped, looking at her hands. She'd just removed her gloves. A series of quarter-sized burn marks she'd gained  
as a five year old child had disappeared, along with the cut she'd given herself with a chopping knife last week while dicing onions for dinner.

Julian and Laura were occupied with their offspring, both leaning in close for a good look.

"Your eyes," Julian said immediately, staring at the beautiful green orbs looking into his blue ones. He felt awed—it was finally sinking in, this  
little creature was part of him, he'd made it. Or helped to make it. "Your face. Oh, look, my thumbs though. And both our hair, I guess." He grinned.

"Julian—" Laura sat up, clutching the girl tight to her chest. "They have followed us. They will take her." She stared at him, white-lipped  
with terror. She nuzzled their daughter's head, then she shoved her into his arms. "Keep her safe. Take her away. She cannot be exposed  
to fighting."

"Huh?" Julian found his arms full of baby. Laura was scrambling out of the bed, her claws sliding out, like she hadn't just given birth.

"What—" Julian paled as the door busted open, and Magneto entered the room, quite calmly, followed by a few of his most devoted  
servants—Mystique, Juggernaut, Sabretooth (who had a creepy grin on his face).

"My, my, Mr. Keller. Quite frankly, I am disappointed; you are unprepared for us."

"I'm sorry, my wife just had a baby, so yeah, we got a little distracted. What's your excuse? " Julian sounded angry, his arm curled  
tightly around his daughter while the other found Laura's waist in preparation. They'd been caught with their pants down, literally.  
It was hard to focus on fighting when his head was crammed with the though _ohmigodbaby._

Magneto only smiled.

"What do you want anyways?" Julian was calculating the odds of mach-speed versus Magneto's almost instantaneous grasp. For all  
he knew, the old man already _was_ holding them in place, and he couldn't tell because of the fucking helmet.

"The child, Mr. Keller," the older man said gravely. "She is the hope for our kind…for mutant kind. I trust you wish to keep her alive,  
which will not happen if you do not follow my instructions."

"Which are?"

"You will give her to me." Magneto tilted his head. "Do not be afraid. She will be honored as the mother of all mutants."

"Rape me," Julian said harshly. He pulled on Laura.

**…**

"What have you done?" Laura asked, looking around them. They were in the same ward—but the bed was made, and the sun shone through  
the shutters, whereas before it had been dark, as it was night. Julian cuddled the little form against his chest, feeling undeniable, overwhelming  
affection towards it.

He suddenly realized he'd sacrifice his life for it.

"I—I don't know," he said, a little confused.

"We've gone back," Laura said, checking the date on the clipboard at the end of the bed. "Julian…oh…this is the infant that we fought for.  
The war is over our offspring."

"Huh?" Julian shifted his daughter in her arms; she was so quiet, so observant.

"Right now…the X-men are witnessing the appearance of the first mutant infant since M-day through Cerebro. They are discussing, they are  
coming to investigate. Others, tapping their sources, and acting independently, are also preparing to find us."

A chill of horror shot down Julian's spine. The baby…the thing that'd ripped his life apart in the first place, was doing it all over again.

"Fuck, I hate my life!" Julian exclaimed. "Why, God, why? I'm already one of the last mutants alive, which means I've signed a warrant for  
my own execution. I may have paranoid schizophrenia. And, I'm a twenty-year-old-parent without a formal education or a job. No, that's  
not enough…my kid is the antichrist!"

Laura looked down.

"I am sorry. I should not have continued my association with you."

"Don't say that." Julian switched arms, hefting the little girl against his right shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm being a whiny little bitch. At least…at  
least we know what happens…she makes it out alive. We all do."

"Cable," Laura said, her eyes on his. "We have to find Cable. He will keep her safe." Her voice wavered a bit on her last words.

"Oh, Laura…" he pulled her against him, hard, as she started to cry silently, her shoulder shaking. His own eyes were wet—he was crying  
with her, he wasn't afraid to admit this. He'd never felt so torn. His own child—after he'd just realized how much she meant to him, and  
how much she would mean to him.

"Why do I exist?" she asked him, the top of her head tucked under his chin.

Julian couldn't answer her.

**…**

"The baby was first detected in Alaska, right?" Julian asked, sitting haphazardly on the wooden chair in the mysteriously deserted  
reception area. His elbows rested on his knees, his hands dangling down between his calves.

Laura was walking back and forth slowly, cradling her daughter.

"Cooperstown, Alaska, at precisely thirteen-fifty-seven and thirty six seconds on the clock."

"How convenient," Julian mumbled. "You sure it's safe to sit around here like chickens in an unguarded henhouse, just waiting for  
the fox? Maybe we should paint little target signs on our backs."

Laura pressed her cheek against her daughter's. "I do not think the opposition will have trouble with aim, Julian. I do not wish  
to assist them, in any case."

Julian, despite himself, grinned. "Laura…I love you," he said.

"I love you, too." She kissed the girl's ear. "Her name is Sarah."

"So you've said before," Julian watched them, the mother and the daughter, his expression softer. "And the middle? Most people  
have two names. Mine is Patrick. Don't think I ever told you that."

Laura tilted her head. "You did, once. When you were intoxicated."

Julian leaned back in his seat and rubbed his neck. "What?...oh." He laughed. "I was pretty wasted. You mean that time on the  
school roof, right? At midnight?"

Laura nodded. "You told me a lot of things."

"You were pretty far gone yourself, beautiful. Forty shots to get you drunk, not a cheap date…worth it though. I've never seen you  
so relaxed…you were totally off your game. How the hell do you remember details like a name I told you?"

Laura smiled slightly. "My memory records every detail of my surroundings, even when I am barely conscious."

"Rachel," he said suddenly. "That's what Mom was going to name my sister."

"Sister?" Laura stroked Sarah's downy head. The child continued to be silent and observant, sucking her thumb quietly. She seemed intelligent.

"She…didn't make it," Julian said, frowning. "Miscarriage. I wanted a sister. I think it's what finally made my parents so cold."

He stood up at the same moment Laura's head swiveled to the side, and little Sarah's eyes focused on the door. They had all, in their  
own way, sensed the same thing. A presence.

"Just in time," Cable said, opening the door.

"Took you long enough," Julian said, clearing his throat. "I guess you know what's up. You seemed to be in on it before."

Nate watched Laura curiously. "Funny, I'd always figured that Rachel was my sister, or cousin, or something. But you're not of any relation  
to the Summers, are you?"

"Fuck no, and frankly I'm glad," Julian scoffed. "Her name is Sarah, by the way. Sarah Rachel Keller." He shifted.

Cable moved over to Laura, who was clutching Sarah protectively, her eyes wet again. "Here, I need to do something that will improve her chances,"  
he said, touching the infant's head. A few curls of reddish hair emerged from her scalp.

Julian rubbed his chin. "You're duping Cyclops, aren't you?"

"Dad's a bit of a hypocrite, as all strong leaders are," Cable said wisely. "If this was just any baby…when it comes down to it, he'd let it take  
the hit." Laura inhaled sharply, involuntarily. "But if he thinks it's somehow related to Jean…he'll let it get away with murder."

He looked sad for a moment. "Laura, I'm sorry, you know what I have to do. I have to take your baby now. Say good-bye then leave, the  
Purifiers aren't more than three minutes away from here."

Laura pressed her cheek again to her daughters. This was the second Sarah she'd have to let go of, the fourth of her family she'd had to bid goodbye.

"Good bye." She closed her eyes and passed Sarah over, feeling nauseous. Julian took hold of her elbows from behind, biting his lip,  
but she wrenched free, her claws ejecting. "Go, NOW!" she shouted at Cable, her voice unnatural and choked. She turned her back  
on her daughter and did not watch as Cable barged back out through the door.

"Laura…we have to get out of here," Julian said, as she fell onto her knees and began scraping at the floor with her claws. "I can sense  
them coming. Purifiers, hundreds of them!"

The claws travelled up to her wrists, scoring enormous bloody trails up the skin. "No, no…beautiful…" he dropped beside her and  
forced her hands apart. "We need to go."

"I do not care anymore!" Laura yelled. "They can come! I will allow them to kill me! I do not want this life! I would rather die now."

She said the last words in a quiet voice, staring blankly ahead.

"Mutants!"

Julian scooped Laura up in his arms, his heart frozen. They were here—oh god, there were so many. Purifiers.

They couldn't possibly fight them all off at once.

And then he realized they were going down. They were going to die.

"You know that anger you're feeling, Laura? Feel free to take it out on these fucking monsters," he said, his fingers tightening on her back.

X-23 looked up, her eyes red and promising death.


	29. 12: Swansong 1:1 everyone alive

**BIG NOTICE: **This has been renamed. Chapters 1-29 now comprise **Helix (stages) Volume 1: the first try**. Please check my other stories for **Helix (stages) Volume 2**. This will be renamed later, when I see what the volume has covered in a whole. Volume 2 **is** up, with chapter 30 of the story in. This story **will not** be updated any longer. I've left the chapter numbers in the little bar in each story so you can tell whereabouts it is. Enjoy chapter 30!

**A/N: **Taah daah! The big chapter. You will notice a definite change... I'm curious to see how people react (hehe). Keep in mind that all will be slowly explained in coming chapters. I've considered splitting Stages up into volumes for easier reading, and re-naming it Helix (haha), but I don't know if it would make it harder for people to find.

**ALSO:** Check out h t t p : / / committed.to/helix ... I put up my first completed art, titled "sunspots" (after the NiN song of the same name). I think it r pretty awesome... must be the first of its kind, since I couldn't find any other fan arts with this happening in it! ;-)

Enjoy

* * *

** Chapter 29: everyone alive **

* * *

Julian thumped against the metal surgery doors, releasing Laura, the gaping hole in his side leaving an enormous smear of blood  
like a slug trail as he slid down. _Yup, gonna die here,_ he thought vaguely. And he thought he'd had it bad with just the Purifiers there…  
and then Magneto had gravely injured him with a tray of surgical instruments, and about four stretchers. And mother-fucking  
Sinister and his fucking Marauders.

He turned his head to study his wife. Laura was cold, her eyes staring blankly ahead. Magneto had forced her to swallow a bundle  
of scalpels; Sinister had shot her with whatever the fuck he did, and then a defibrillator had been overloaded by one of the lackeys  
and connected to her for over five minutes before he could rip the electrodes away.

He'd carried her here with him, but he'd known the second she passed away. That's when he'd gotten more pissed off than he'd ever  
been in his life, and the voices in the back of his head got so loud that they were crowding his brain.

Flames licked at his hand, but they didn't hurt. They'd come from him, somehow. He'd literally exploded, listening to the loudest  
voice—_**let me help.**_ As if there was anything left to help. Laura was dead, and he'd died with her. He'd wanted to prolong his  
existence for a second or two to take everyone with him.

He was dimly aware that this action had killed everyone in the radius—but he wasn't sure who he'd hit. All the fucking Purifiers were  
dead—and at least some of the big bad's squads—but he doubted he'd really gotten Sinister or Magneto. Hurt them for sure…his eyes  
rolled up in the back of his head, he was sleepy.

_**The two of us are dying, **_his friend told him.

"No shit…" he sighed. The room faded from focus, and he was back. In the White Hot Room. It was empty now; all the people from  
before were gone, because they were inside him.

At this moment, Julian understood what his friend was. And accepted it.

Laura stood in front of him, looking less damaged than a moment ago. Her eyes were wide, searching; she clapped her hand on his  
chest. He looked down—there was a weird golden bird emblem all over his torso, and he was wearing some kind of tight material,  
red, as always.

"Phoenix," she said in a more certain voice than last time.

"Yes," he and the other voices answered. "What brings _you_ here, beautiful?" he added, in his own voice with a slight grin.

"We are dead." Laura looked down; apparently the floor of the White Hot Room was transparent. Below them were two corpses, one  
curled against the side of the other. Him and Laura. "Ugh, so cliché, an after-death experience," he said, and the floor clouded over  
again just by him thinking of it. "I might throw up."

"Why did you bring me here?" Laura asked, her eyes wary. "I am supposed to be moving on."

"There are a lot of rooms I could show you," Julian interrupted. "White Hot Room, Black Bug Room, Rest Room…heh, I guess even Gods  
and Kings need the throne." He touched Laura's chin. "Seriously…though, I love you. I guess what I mean to say is Phoenix loves you too…  
I hope that doesn't freak you out, a genderless deity having this creepy thing for you, so much that it wants to be a guy permanently."

"It is part of you," Laura said seriously. "So, no, it does not bother me." She tilted her head. "How does this concern the matter at hand?"

"Phoenix doesn't want you to die," Julian said. "I…I don't want you dead either. We've got a common goal. We...normally Phoenix doesn't  
do the human scene, it doesn't get involved. It…he likes to watch." He grimaced. "He's a bit of a pervert. Anyways, what I'm trying to say…  
is that Phoenix is willing to get his hands dirty. For you."

"For me," Laura said. It was not something she was used to hearing.

"I don't know much about this stuff, my control isn't really good," Julian said apologetically. "I…every time Phoenix goes body-snatching,  
he says that he needs to adjust to the new host. It takes time, which we don't have."

"What are you going to do?" Laura asked.

"He says it's simple…the whole problem here is M-day. We're going to undo it…we're going to make it so M-day never happened, and no  
mutants ever lost their powers. You remember that wish you had?"

"Everyone alive," Laura said quietly.

"That's it," he said, his eyes white. "Well, it's happening. Right now. Magneto's daughter never went crazy…M-day didn't happen. We're  
all back doing what we were before that nasty shit. As a consequence, I'm not going to be Phoenix anymore…least till it gets called to me,  
a different way." He touched her chin again. "Kiss me, Laura, you're not going to see me for a while."

"Will we remember?" Laura breathed.

"No. I'm sorry. We're going to go back to the way it was. You…I hope you come to the school. And find me. I want you so bad, like crazy…"  
he grinned. "Might have a time convincing me, I was such a jerk…"

Laura's lips parted.

"Oh, and, beautiful?" Julian was leaning closer. "One thing I _can_ do. Little gift…" he kissed her, and the room whited out.

Two smoking wedding rings circled slowly on the floor behind them, blazing hot.

**…**

Laura was standing in a room. Actually, leaning against the wall in a dark basement. For the tiniest fraction of a moment, it seemed strange.  
She pulled away from the person in her face—a guy, with piercings all over his face. Their lips parted with a wet smack, and she shook her head.  
"Ugh," she said. "What the hell was I thinking? Last time I'm taking _that_ shit." She rubbed her face and turned her back on the person she'd  
just been sucking face with.

"Hah!" a girl called from across the room, were she was otherwise occupied. "Yeah right, Laura. I've heard you say that sooo many times…"

Megan. Her cousin. The boy behind her put his hand on her shoulder.

"What gives?"

"Ugh. Go away, Pike," Laura said. "I need air. I'll catch you later, Megan."

"Loser," her cousin said in-between kisses.

Her head cleared a bit, standing outside in the air. The hot summer was turning into cool autumn, bringing with it the thought of school.  
Laura didn't know if she could handle another year of that shit. She was already too smart for the material being taught, and was top-mark  
in everything…it was the kids she couldn't stand. Not a day went by without her getting into trouble, either with the staff, or the students.

And things she'd been caught with.

Laura's pocket buzzed; her cell phone. She picked it up, studying it; the word "mummeh" was displayed, with a familiar phone number.

She rolled her eyes and continued up to the house.

**…**

"Loser," a boy sitting behind Megan hissed, thwipping her ear and making her earrings rattle. She turned around and gave him a death-glare,  
then her eyes met Laura's. They shared grins—they both knew what they'd be doing on break.

**…**

"Miss Kinney, Miss Parveen," the councilor said sternly. "That was not in the least bit amusing, what you did to poor Mr. Hodges. I hope he will  
recover. Don't you feel even the slightest remorse for damaging him like that?"

Laura blew out a puff of air. "What…I only broke his nose. He had it coming."

"Kinney." Mr. Grawsley leaned forward. "Mr. Hodges might require surgery to correct it, if it doesn't heal properly. He could sue you, and  
sue the school. Is that what you want?"

"He can sue all he wants," Laura said. "I don't have anything to take. Besides, if he did that, he'd have to admit to the court why I beat him up."

The councilor leaned back in his chair.

"I am recommending your expulsion from this school, Miss Kinney," he said calmly.

"Yesss!" Laura high-fived her cousin.

**…**

Her drawings on the fridge. Fuzzy slippers on her feet. Her mother, with her back to her, cooking dinner. A table under her elbows,  
her cheek leaning on her hand.

"Laura. We need to talk."

Clink of the spatula.

"I'm sure," Laura yawned.

"I received this today…" Sarah reached for a letter on the counter.

Laura grinned. "Are you proud of me?"

"Hardly," Sarah said softly. "Laura…is this about the experiments?"

Laura could barely remember them. They only bothered her in her sleep. "No. I just can't stand people, there."

Sarah frowned. "Laura, you come home with three letters a day from teachers, stating how you've gotten into some fight or another.  
The only reason they kept you on was your grades. You could really be something if you applied your energies the right way, you know."

"But I already am something," Laura said, sneering.

Sarah closed her eyes. Better to just come out with the news, than dance around it too long. It was obvious that Laura didn't care.

"I'm sending you to Xavier's."

Laura's hand slapped down on the table.

"What?! That place is a death trap!" she gasped. "You can't. Oh my god…mom…I'll have to say goodbye to Megan…and aunt Debbie…"

"You need to develop your powers," Sarah said in that dreamy tone of hers. "You need to know how to defend yourself. The world isn't  
a friendly place for a mutant, you know."

She was talking about Laura's difference. Like her father, a mutant named Wolverine, she healed from injuries incredibly quickly.

"I know," Laura said, frustrated. "But mom…really…how can I be trained on how to use a power that's pretty much automatic? What do I do  
there, stand around and heal myself? Come on!"

"No buts," Sarah said gently. "I received your acceptance letter this morning. We're going to the school the end of this month. It'll be a chance  
for you to get to know your…father."

**…**

Laura rubbed her eyes blearily. She'd slept extremely poorly; her dreams had been laced with the lab again—and more. The dream about killing  
people…hundreds of nameless, faceless people with her hands… a white room…

When Laura had been about five years old, a mutant experiments lab had nabbed her. She'd had some nasty procedures done.

The car rolled to a stop. Laura refused to look at the impressively large buildings of the institute. She hated her mother for doing this—yes, hate was  
not too strong a word. In teenaged retaliation, she'd painted her face elaborately with black eyeliner and dark lipstick, and put on her trashiest clothing,  
even a bit more gothic than she'd normally wear. She didn't want anything to do with this school, and she wanted people to stay away from her.

"Laura…"

She turned her head to the window, showing her ignorance towards her mother. Fingers touched her cheek; she pushed her hand away angrily.  
"_Don't_ touch me!" she snapped, shoving the door open and bolting out of the car, towards the lawn. She had a strong temper, and tended to  
run when she was upset. She rudely bumped into two out of three boys that had been watching the car pull up, pulling her nastiest grimace at them.

"Woah, excuse _you_," one called after her. He had a smooth, sandy voice that was rough around the edges. "PMS much?"

She whirled around and glared at the boys, tilting her head. Instinct took over for a moment as she classified them…the first was in his late teens to early  
20's (she estimated 19), Caucasian, black hair, with blue eyes, about 72.5747792 kilograms (or 160 lbs.); mutate. The second was in his late teens  
(she estimated 17 years), a dark-skinned boy with tightly braided hair, brown eyes, about 70.3068174 kilograms (155 lbs.); mutate. The third was  
made of boulders and unclassifiable for age (although probably late teens), had blank eyes, and weighed about 158.757329 kilograms (350 lbs.),  
and was a very obvious mutate. _Snff_. She filed away their scents, noting the mixtures. _Old Spice, Gillette for men, and a mixture of silica, concrete and  
sandstone, with other trace elements._ This all took place about three seconds, and was a gift from the lab. They had intended for Laura to become a  
"Bloodhound", a hunter of mutants. She had been trained to automatically classify and detect mutants, subconsciously. Her mind stored the information;  
once she'd met someone, she would know them anywhere. She literally never forgot a face.

"I don't want to be at this freakshow!" Laura spat angrily. "Fuck yourselves. And no, you're NOT excused."

"Easy man, she's not worth it," the dark-skinned boy said, laying his hand on his friend's shoulder. The guy who'd called after her was clenching his hand  
into a fist, and his eyes were green. _Telekinetic, _she analyzed.

"Actually, I am," Laura said, baring her teeth in a grin of challenge. Nothing she'd like better than a fight at the moment; it might even get her  
sent home right away.

"Hear that, Cruz? She _wants_ a piece." Her potential opponent stared steadily at her, his eyes unreadable.

"That makes it totally okay to beat up a girl," the rocky mutant said.

The telekinetic took a step towards Laura, and tapped her on the shoulder. "So just what you packing, bitch?" he asked. "I can hand you your little emo  
butt without lifting a finger, so you'd better watch who you talk to in this school."

Laura popped the claws, satisfying the itch in her knuckles, and everyone stepped back a foot involuntarily. Her opponent glared at her, unmoving.  
"Wow, claws, haven't seen _that_ before," he sneered, but suddenly he seemed to shift his attention away from agitation. "You picked a squad yet?  
You should be a Hellion."

"I just got here," Laura said, her eyes narrowed. "And I'm not going to be on any stupid squad-thing. I don't do sports."

"Fine," the boy said. "What's your name, spitfire?"

"You look like the kind of guy that'd forget it in thirteen seconds anyway…which is, coincidentally, how long it takes you." Laura turned away, no  
longer interested. The telekinetic scowled at her while his friends laughed.

"I'm Julian," he called after her.

"Whatever," Laura said, holding her hand up as she walked away.


End file.
